One of Scotland’s most prominent businessmen has been made bankrupt by his own nephew over a £400,000 debt. Bookmaker Billy King Jr took his retired 82-year-old uncle Hugh King to court after lending him the money more than three years ago.
The King family has business interests across the country –spanning gambling, pubs, clubs, property and finance. When Hugh failed to pay back by an agreed deadline, the younger businessman won an action to sequestrate his relative.
An insolvency firm has now been appointed with the power to seize assets to pay off the debt, including Hugh’s 125-year-old B-listed, two-storey villa in Whitecraigs, in the outskirts of Glasgow.
Billy’s lawyer, Angela McCracken, told Paisley Sheriff Court last week that Hugh had not repaid any of the loan since it was made in September 2019.
She said: “He lent his uncle £400,000 on the basis it was to be repaid within a time frame of three to six months. Assurances were given that the money would be paid. That was one year ago.”
Sheriff officers then visited Hugh’s home in an effort to get the money but the bid failed.
She said: “There has been no attempt to repay any money. At the time the debtor needed money quickly and his nephew was willing to give it to him.
“It has now been three years when it was an agreement of three to six months. There is no excuse and in this case sequestration is the only way for the petitioner to regain his money.
“It’s with a heavy heart the petitioner has had to go down this route.”
Hugh’s legal team said that while their client came from a wealthy family, he was cash-poor and would only be able to pay the sum in full next month.
Ms McCracken objected to the case being continued and added: “I’ve been receiving emails since this case started that money is coming. It was always going to be a few days away but it never came. We’ve been here many times before.
“There’s been no attempt to make any repayment, even of £1, nor a phone call to apologise.
“Mr Hugh King is a very wealthy man. He has a number of assets, not least what could be described as a palatial mansion. He just doesn’t want to pay.”
Sheriff Bruce Erroch KC ruled in favour of Billy. He said: “There are no concrete proposals for repayment that have been made. Matters in this case seem to have gone on too long. I award sequestration in the estate of Mr Hugh King.”
Neither Hugh nor Billy were in court to hear the outcome of the hearing. The Kings are one of the best-known and successful business families in Scotland.
Hugh’s nephew Stefan King, 60, owns the Glasgow-based entertainment industry giant Scotsman Group. The company operates 153
restaurants, bars, nightclubs, cinemas and hotels in Scotland, including the Corinthian Club in Glasgow and Ghillie Dhu in Edinburgh. Last September the company took over the famous Oran Mor venue in Glasgow.
Stefan is said to be one of Scotland’s wealthiest people. His late father, George King, founded the G101 off-sales chain in 1972. It is now operated by Stefan as One to One, convenience stores with 46 outlets across Scotland.
Billy is a director of the family-run William King bookmakers, which has shops across Glasgow. His dad, Billy Sr, Hugh’s older brother, passed away last September , aged 85. He was also a director of William King, which was founded in the 30s.
Billy Sr was a major figure in British greyhound racing and used to run Shawfield Stadium. Hugh also worked as a bookmaker and is reported to have sold shops he owned for £4million to the Tote in 2004.
It is the second time that a prominent member of the King family has been declared bankrupt in the last six years. Hugh’s son Gregory went bust in 2017 – with estimated personal debts of about £120million – following the collapse of his hedge fund firm Heather Capital.
We revealed earlier this month how insolvency experts Begbies Traynor had seized a luxury property, also in Whitecraigs. The house had been bought by a Gibraltar-based property firm in 2008 for £1million. It was sold last month for offers over £675,000, with proceeds going to pay off King’s debts.
Begbies Traynor is also targeting other parts of a property empire linked to King. Last year it recovered and sold a £5.5million villa on the Costa del Sol.
Police launched a fraud probe into Heather Capital in 2013, which resulted in Gregory King and three men being reported to the Crown Office before the case was dropped in 2018.
When the Sunday Mail called at Hugh King’s home, a Bentley and a Mercedes were parked in front of the house. Billy King lives in a bungalow in nearby Newton Mearns. Neither Hugh King nor Billy King could be contacted for comment.
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