Unopened Carlauren care homes boss denies £50m 'missing'

A developer that wanted to set up a network of luxury care homes across the UK believes the firm can be saved.

Investors claim £50m is unaccounted for and have applied to the Insolvency and Companies Court to put the Carlauren Group Ltd into administration.

Carlauren's chief executive Sean Murray has denied this and told the court he believed the company was "saveable".

Most of the homes never opened and Mr Murray is accused of misappropriating company funds, which he denies.

The court heard that investors from around the world put a total of £76m into projects and that £50m of that money was "missing".

A barrister representing some of the investors claimed significant sums had been transferred into Mr Murray's personal account.

The investors want Carlauren put into administration so they can control its assets.

Mr Murray, who represented himself at the hearing in London, told the court there were no missing millions.

And although money had been transferred to his personal account it was being held in trust for the company, he said.

Carlauren purchased 25 properties across the UK including Windlestone Hall, near Bishop Auckland, County Durham, which it bought for £850,000 in 2017.

The scheme was funded by selling individual rooms in those properties to investors for around £100,000 a time - but most of those homes never opened.

Mr Murray told the court he had trusted company directors to run the care and property side of his business.

He said he believed most of the properties were ready to be occupied but this turned out not to be the case, and without paying-residents Carlauren Care was losing money.

He said he had been "honourable" and the so-called missing money had actually been reinvested in the company.

Mr Murray said: "Everything I have done has been in the interest of investors to enable them to get some money back."

Judge Prentis is expected to decide on the application to put Carlauren Group into administration on Thursday.