Imperial bosses go bankrupt

The disgraced chiefs of the collapsed Imperial Consolidated finance group have been made bankrupt. Lincoln Julian Fraser and Jared Bentley Brook, the co-founders, were both declared bankrupt at Grimsby County Court last week.

It is the second bankruptcy in just over seven years for the 31-year-old Mr Fraser. The petitioning creditor was Deigh- ton International, a leisure/ tourism firm that is based in Southampton and whose previous projects have included work on the Millennium Dome. Mr Fraser and Mr Brook owe £472,000 to the company's boss, Philip D Deighton, and his wife Joan.

Imperial Consolidated, a UK-based offshore finance house, went bust last year owing investors £200m. Both Mr Fraser and Mr Brook are currently serving four-year bans from acting as directors. Assets belonging to the two have already been frozen by administrators of Imperial Consolidated.

The bankruptcy had nothing to do with Imperial Consolidated. It related to plans to redevelop the Midland Grand Hotel in Morecambe, a famous art deco landmark. Ironically, Mr Fraser's previous bankruptcy was also related to a previous venture running the same hotel.

The collapse of that deal also led to the banning order from the DTI.