Investor denies misleading council in failed deals

An investor has denied misleading Thurrock Council in deals worth hundreds of millions of pounds that left it effectively bankrupt.

Liam Kavanagh said there had been no "fraud, dishonesty or other wrongdoing" on his part, stressing the Essex-based local authority made "repeated failures" in its strategy.

Thurrock hoped to fund local services with any profit it made from £655m of investments, poured mostly into solar farm projects, but they failed.

Lawyers for Kavanagh said any suggestion that he had bad intentions were "denied in the strongest possible terms".

The council is taking legal action against Kavanagh in an effort to retrieve some of the millions paid to him and Rockfire Investment Finance, of which he was chief executive.

In legal papers, seen by the BBC, it claimed to have lost £130m through investments it made through the businessman.

He has admitted taking a substantial part of the money for himself, some of it as a fee for his services, and to spending millions on a yacht, private jet and Spanish villa.

A statement supplied by his lawyers said: "Mr Kavanagh has not admitted any fraud, dishonesty or other wrongdoing."

They said Kavanagh delivered all the assets requested by the council, stressing they generated a "significant income stream".

But he accused the authority of failing to diversify its investments and not fully understanding the risks it took.

"Those were the council's decisions. They were not the product of any wrongdoing by Mr Kavanagh or Rockfire Capital," his lawyers added.

Thurrock Council racked up a debt of £1.5bn when its investments went wrong in 2022.

It has since managed to recoup some of its investments and had reduced its total debt to £677m, as of December.

A spokesperson for the local authority previously said: "Thurrock Council has received Liam Kavanagh's defence to the council's claims.

"The council, together with its legal advisers, will consider its contents and respond through the court process."

The council has been contacted for an updated comment.

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