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Founder of Signature empire given director ban

Jonny HumphriesNorth West
AFP A man in his 50s, with short blonde hair and light stubble, poses on the balcony of tall building overlooking an area of dockland. He is wearing a black t-shirt and is smiling. AFP
Lawrence Kenwright cannot be involved in setting up or running any company for five years

The controversial Liverpool businessman behind the collapsed Signature Group of property firms has been banned as acting as a company director for five years.

Lawrence Kenwright, who once launched an unsuccessful bid to become mayor of Liverpool, was the founder of almost 100 companies which owned a number of hotels, including the football themed Shankly and Dixie Dean.

The Insolvency Service said he had allowed one of his companies, Signature Works Gold Ltd, to mislead investors - who suffered losses of more than £4.8m.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had been investigating the Signature Group after a series of raids and arrests in 2024, but announced it was not pressing charges in July.

The wider group had owed more than £100m to creditors when Kenwright and his wife, Katie Kenwright, of Sankey Road in Maghull, filed for bankruptcy in January 2024.

Kevin Read, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said Kenwright's "failures as a company director" had "serious consequences" for investors in Signature Works Gold Ltd.

"While Kenwright is not accused of direct fraud, his conduct nevertheless falls well below the standards we expect of company directors," he added.

A man in his 50s, with short blonde hair and light stubble, looks into the camera with a serious expression. He is wearing a navy blue suit jacket over a white shirt, and is standing outside an ornate stone building with large wooden doors.
Kenwright's companies owned a string of hotels based in historic buildings

Signature Works Gold, founded in 2017, had already been wound up "in the public interest" in December 2022 after an application by the Insolvency Service.

The firm operated by selling desk space to investors for The Bling Bling Building, Arthouse Hotel and 60 Old Hall Street - all in Liverpool City Centre.

The Insolvency Service said the company would rent out the working space to the public with the rental income intended to fund returns for investors.

However, it stopped paying returns in September 2019.

The service said it found the company had distributed "false" and "misleading" marketing material which "stated or implied" that investors would gain a legal interest in the buildings they invested in - formally registered at the Land Registry.

However investigators found Signature Works Gold did not own any freehold or leasehold interest in any of the three properties.

Instead the buildings were owned by separate companies which were not in the same legal structure as most of the wider Signature group, but had Kenwright listed as the sole or main shareholder.

When Signature Works Gold was wound up it had assets of less than £100,000 while owing £4.84m.

The Insolvency Service said Kenwright had agreed to sign a disqualification undertaking meaning he cannot be involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company without the permission of the court.

Before its collapse, the Signature Group owned a number of historic buildings including the Coal Exchange in Cardiff and the Scottish Mutual Building in Belfast.

In 2019 it claimed to have a turnover of more than £80m.

The BBC has approached Kenwright for comment.

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