Firm must dissolve due to sibling owners, brother says

The co-owner of a local staffing firm said it should be dissolved by a judge because his sister has pocketed all of its profits and driven the company into the ground. Meanwhile, the sister is suing him for allegedly stealing $750,000.

Gavinheath was founded in 2016 by Holly Steele and her brother Robin Whitrock. It is named for their late brother, who died of cancer in 2013. The company does recruiting and talent acquisition work for other companies from its headquarters in Greenwood Village.

The company reported $4.5 million in gross sales in 2017, $3.5 million in 2018, $2 million in 2019, $2.2 million in 2020 and $4 million in 2021, according to Whitrock.

In a lawsuit he filed March 6, the co-owner said he hasn’t seen a penny of the profits because Gavinheath has never paid distributions to its members, who are Steele, Whitrock and another man. He sees this as evidence that “the company is financially unfeasible.”

“With Steele exercising total control of the company, it has never made enough profit to distribute, despite Steele loaning the company millions of dollars and the company bringing in as much as $4.5 million in gross receipts some years,” his lawsuit alleges.

Dan Steele, the president of Gavinheath and husband of Holly Steele, said that his wife’s lawyers had advised her not to comment on the pending litigation.

“It’s worth noting that Ms. Steele has been engaged in ongoing litigation with Mr. Whitrock for nearly a year and … this new filing appears to be a retaliatory measure,” he said.

Holly Steele sued Whitrock and a health care company of his for theft in February 2023. She claims that her brother and his company borrowed $750,000 from her in 2016 and 2017 but “did not have any intention of repaying … by the time the notes matured — or ever.” Whitrock denies that allegation. A threeday jury trial is scheduled for October in Castle Rock.

In the case of Gavinheath, Whitrock said his sister has reneged on their agreement to make quarterly distributions of the company’s profits, has “gained de facto complete operational control of the company,” has paid herself $420,000 from company funds, has loaned $2 million to the company and won’t answer questions about Gavinheath’s finances.

“The dysfunctional relationship between Steele and Whitrock, the two main equity owners, constitutes a clear inability to work together to achieve the company’s goals,” he says.

When Whitrock tried to call a board meeting last year, he was told by his sister’s lawyer that she “does not believe that Mr. Whitrock will fit in with the ethos of Gavinheath” and that he “has been a decided albatross to the success of Gavinheath,” according to his lawsuit.

So, Whitrock is asking District Court Judge Don Toussaint in Centennial to order a forensic audit of Gavinheath, to appoint a receiver to wind down the company’s affairs, and then to dissolve it.

He is represented by attorney Bryan Gwinn with Volant Law in Englewood.

“Unfortunately, there are still many questions about the company’s operation over the years that remain unanswered,” Whitrock told Businessden in a statement.

“Family conflicts are complicated and it pains me to have to take this step, but it has become necessary.”