The former director of an estate agency that closed has promised to pay back the £15,000 it owes landlords and tenants.

Timothy Harding said Bentley's lettings office in Western Road, Brighton, closed its doors and left tenants and landlords in the dark due to a "partnership dispute".

Trading standards officers said they were investigating the closure and the Office of Fair Trading was alerted.

After our story yesterday, Mr Harding pledged to return all deposits, fees and rents.

He said: "I am in the process now of refunding all the money. It amounts to about £8,000 in tenants' deposits and another £8,000 landlords' rents. They should all be paid by the end of the week."

He stressed he never intended to run off with the money.

He said: "I have enough money of my own. The reason for the confusion was my business partner Jan Jones and I fell out. I took the files from the office and sold the company.

"I was the director and had the last say at the end of the day. I did what I thought was the right thing.

"I have been left to deal with all the mess. I just want to get everyone paid off and be done with it. I am through with Bentley's and through with lettings. I am involved in lots of other businesses so I don't need this."

He claimed the two limited companies with which he was involved, Bentley's Estate Agents and Bentley's Residential, with registered offices in Western Road, would both be dissolved by the end of the month.

He resigned as director of the latter two weeks ago.

Mr Jones, former partner of Bentley's in Western Road, said: "We had no choice but to remove everything from the office and close down. Otherwise, no one would have got paid. I am just glad all the tenants and landlords will now get their money back. That was always my priority."

Meanwhile, staff at Bentley's sales office in Dyke Road, formerly connected to the Western Road office, have said it was business as usual.

They were bombarded with telephone calls from tenants and landlords demanding to know where their money was.

Gary Viney, owner and director of Bentley's in Dyke Road, said: "The closure was a complete shock to us too. I sent a member of staff to pick up a set of keys from the Western Road office and he came back and said it was empty.

"Jan and Tim were at loggerheads and I have just been trying to sort it all out. At least me being here softened the blow for people who were owed money. I knew people would think they had run off with the money if they hid away."

He stressed his sales business in Dyke Road has been completely separate from the lettings office in Western Road since October last year.

He said: "We may have been tarred by the same brush but I am keen to show my face and prove I have nothing to hide."

The lettings portfolio of 85 properties from Bentley's, Western Road, has been taken over by Regal Letting and Management, St George's Road, Brighton.

A Regal spokesman said: "We have been left holding the rubbish floating around. All we can do is work for the benefit of tenants and landlords. We cannot return deposits to tenants who have moved out in the last few weeks. We are waiting for a cheque from Bentley's to pay the outstanding rent owed to landlords."