Alex Proud's Stanmer House company had debts of more than £1m

Brighton-born entrepreneur Alex Proud had been running Stanmer House since 2016 but has closed the manor and liquidated the management company, Proud Publishing Ltd.

An official public record on the London Gazette shows HMRC presented a petition to wind up the company to the High Court in London in February.

It was alleged Proud Publishing owed £275,000 to HMRC, according to documents at Companies House.

Brighton and Hove City Council is also among the list of 39 unpaid creditors, with Proud Publishing Ltd owing £30,629 to the council and £1,125,019 overall to all creditors.

When asked if there is any likelihood that any creditors will be paid, a spokesman for the Proud Group said: “No – that is not likely.”

The spokesman added: “The presentation of the petition was subsequent to the decision being taken that the company had to cease trading.

“We were aware of the possibility of the petition in any event.”

The same document shows the company owes £95,012 to Westminster City Council and £19,049 to the City of London Corporation, which is the governing body for the historic centre of the capital.

The spokesman said: “Proud Publishing Limited ran several venues, including those in London.”

Back in January Mr Proud told The Argus he was already facing having to liquidate the business because of a rent increase.

He said: “I’ve put millions of pounds into Stanmer House but we are having to liquidate the company.”

The spokesman said: “The rent review sought by the landlord would have led to an immediate liability of somewhere in the region of £220,000 and a rent increase of approximately £40,000 a year.

“That was not something which the company could bear and it would have been irresponsible to continue to trade.”

Days before the High Court hearing was due in London Mr Proud’s company passed a special resolution putting the company into voluntary liquidation. The spokesman said the petition and the liquidation were not linked.

Proud Publishing Ltd is one of Mr Proud’s companies which has gone into liquidation.

Last year, Country House (Stanmer) Ltd, which Mr Proud said was a “trading company” was liquidated on July 31.

The statement of affairs shows the company owed £56,975 to the council and £70,586 in VAT to HMRC.

Brighton businesses Real Patisserie, Brighton and Newhaven Fish Sales, Brighton Paper Round Ltd and Brighton and Hove Coaches were also listed as unpaid creditors.

The spokesman said: “That company was the trading company for the Stanmer site but was placed into liquidation because it could not meet its liabilities.

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“The lease for the premises was owned by Proud Publishing Limited which was a stronger business and it was hoped would be able to trade from the site successfully. That was unfortunately not the case because of the landlord’s position on the rent review and its refusal to negotiate.”

Mr Proud also runs Proud Cabaret Brighton in St George’s Road, Kemp Town.

Cabaret Club (Brighton) Ltd went into liquidation on July 31 last year, with the company owing £19,460 to the council.

The spokesman said: “The liquidation of that company coincided with the liquidation of Country House (Stanmer) Ltd as part of a wider restructuring undertaken in an attempt to support the businesses and the 200 or so staff that were employed across the Proud companies.”

In February 2013, another of Mr Proud’s companies, Proud Brighton Ltd, went into liquidation with a list of 101 unpaid creditors totalling £851,925.

Proud Power Ltd also went into liquidation in February 2013 and the statement of affairs on Companies House shows almost £2 million was owed to a list of 134 organisations and businesses.

The spokesman said: “The issues that arose some seven years ago were as a result of the removal of the licence for one of our premises following a police incident.

“The decision to remove the licence was overturned on appeal but, due to the length of time taken for that appeal to be heard and the inevitable loss of business during the closure that resulted from the loss of the licence, it was not possible for the businesses to survive.”

A Land Registry document shows the freehold for Brighton Cabaret in St George’s Road was transferred from Proud Power Ltd to another company, Proud Brighton Galleries Ltd, on December 21, 2012.

The spokesman said all of the actions taken by the relevant companies were in accordance with their obligations under the Companies Act and any associated legislation.

He said: “All transactions, including those in relation to any property were reviewed by the liquidator – who is entirely independent – as part of the liquidation process.”

Proud Brighton Galleries Ltd remains active, according to Companies House.

When asked which company runs Brighton Cabaret now, the spokesman said the site is owned by Brighton Galleries Limited, “which has granted a licence to another of our companies to run the venue”.

In response to the £30,629 owed to Brighton and Hove City Council from Proud Publishing Ltd, a council spokesman said: “The council is disappointed the situation has come to this and for others who had business arrangements with the company.

“We’re currently working with other creditors to examine different options open to us going forward.”