Time’s up as watch firm goes into liquidation
A COMPANY whose shares were illegally sold to the public has collapsed into liquidation with around £400,000 unaccounted for.
Paragon Time Trading Limited offered shares at 60p each, claiming the cash would be used to buy luxury watches that would be rented out to customers who wanted a flashy timepiece for a special occasion.
Since last August we had warned that one of the company’s two directors could not be traced, and there were question marks over the number of customers it claimed it had. Worse still, the shares were marketed unlawfully, through cold calls and with false claims, by a separate firm, IFRC Consultants Limited, which also calls itself Incrementum Funding. The firm was not licensed by watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority, so its marketing efforts were a criminal offence. I also exposed one of its salesmen, Spencer George, as a previous peddler of worthless carbon credit investments.
Paragon boss Richard Ludgate has now put the company into liquidation. An initial statement of affairs is due to be published by Companies House.
This will show that according to Ludgate, the company has no assets, and liabilities of £417,220, including £382,120 raked in from investors. The figure is likely to rise as more investors come forward.
The watchdog took no action to halt the share sales at an early stage, despite being offered evidence by The Mail on Sunday.
An investigation has now been opened by the City of London Police.