A tycoon has been slammed for using a tangled scheme to shut down his winter sports business and dodge paying out money to staff.
Jamie Smith built up and ran the Snow Factor centre in Braehead, Glasgow, and an ice climbing wall in Kinlochleven, Argyll, both of which eventually closed leaving a trail of debt. More than 100 jobs were lost in the wake of the failures. Staff worked for weeks for no pay and many are fighting for redundancy payments two years later.
Meanwhile, Smith – free of debt from the failed ventures – is now running a yachting business in Greece. Workers were furious to discover that Smith was among more than 1000 UK directors to use a “corporate rescue” process created by Scot John Irvin, which the UK’s Insolvency Service has taken action to shut down.
The Atherton group of companies, run by Ayrshire-based Irvin, have helped directors of failing firms avoid tens of millions of pounds of debt and leaving financial chaos in their wake. Irvin paid bogus directors, most commonly a man named Neville Taylor, to take the place of the former directors whose companies had built up big debts to HM Revenue & Customs and others.
But these directors made no efforts to save stricken companies, instead leaving them to be dissolved. In many cases, directors “phoenixed” companies, carrying on their business with a brand new, debt-free firm. Last night former employees of Smith at the Snow Factor indoor ski slope slammed him for the way he left them in the lurch in November 2022.
And Glasgow East MP John Grady, who is helping staff with their redundancy claims, called for an urgent investigation into the circumstances of the closure of Snow Factor and other firms via the Atherton scheme.
He said: “The circumstances need to be thoroughly investigated. Every effort should be made to recoup cash for creditors and employees. If investigation shows any improper conduct I would expect appropriate consequences.”
He added: “These were not high-paid, fat cat jobs. Staff have not been paid in full and have lost out on thousands.”
Snow Factor staff have discovered that Smith sold the business to new directors – paying about £15,000 for the service – whose sole intention was to have the company wound up. Ski instructor Adrian Martin, 65, said: “We loved working at Snow Factor as it was a real hub for snow sports in Scotland. We hoped the mysterious Neville Taylor would bring new investment and revive the business.
“But we were sent home and never worked another shift. Taylor immediately went Awol and didn’t respond to any queries or correspondence. We came to wonder if he was a real person. Taylor never had any intention of doing anything that would save the business. Then we found out that the same thing had happened with hundreds of other companies Taylor was involved in, with unpaid company debts piling up. We have had to fight for redundancy money and I still have money owed.”
Adrian said the running of Snow Factor became confusing and wages for slope staff, like instructors, began being paid via a charity that Smith had set up called The Adventure Trust. He said some staff were furious to see social media posts by Smith, crowing about his new life in Greece, running a luxury yacht tour business based on the island of Rhodes. He said: “A lot of the staff feel angry and very disappointed.”
Instructor Patsy Millar, 56, said many of the close-knit workers at Snow Factor were demoralised when the slope shut. Then the same fate befell Ice Factor in Kinlochleven. She added: “It was a hub for ski teams and disability sport – there were campaigns to save Snow Factor when it shut down. We knew Jamie’s business was badly affected by the Covid lockdown. But people really wanted the business to survive and we believed that this was a real possibility with the sale. We were given false hope.”
Smith took control of the Snow Factor business in a management buy-out in 2017 and by 2019 it accounted for half of the country’s mountain ski days. Smith, from Lochcarron, Wester Ross, built the Ice Factor Group and claimed to welcome 100,000 visitors a year to the ice wall in Kinlochleven.
But his empire was rocked by Brexit, followed by the Covid lockdowns beginning in 2020. He resigned from Snow Factor Ltd in October that year – doing “an Atherton” by selling the company and its debts. He set up another company called SF Ops Ltd, which then took over the running of the Snow Factor business.
Smith sold SF Ops Ltd in November 2022 to Atherton before sailing away to enjoy his life with the yachting business in Greece. The transaction cost Smith £15,000 which paid for Neville Taylor to effectively replace him as company director, making Taylor responsible for company debts and responsibilities to staff.
Another employee told how Taylor melted away days after sending a letter to staff in which he said he was hoping to save jobs.
The employee said: “At no stage since November 2022 has Neville Taylor made contact with any members of staff. He failed to respond to any of our letters or the employment tribunals for 80 staff, which awarded payments in excess of £100,000.
“If we do not start the winding-up process within the next four months, we will lose the outstanding employment tribunal awards for outstanding sums related to withheld wages, holiday pay, notice period and protective awards.”
The employee added: “Jamie Smith’s conduct has been appalling. He made out that he was doing what he could to save people’s jobs but he was more concerned with exiting the business and leaving the financial mess for others to clear up. We didn’t know it at the time but when control was passed to Taylor, we were doomed. This man’s only interest was driving the final nail in the coffin of companies.”
Smith walked away from the Ice Factor climbing wall in Kinlochleven in February 2023, with new directors appointed to two connected companies ahead of its closure. On his LinkedIn profile, which he closed after the Record contacted him, Smith gushed about his achievements with the Snow Factor business from 2017 to 2022, ending by stating bluntly: “Sold the business and exited.”
Now based in Lindos, Smith has been skippering a luxury catamaran that sails the Greek islands with wealthy clients, using a company he set up in that country. In one video a bare-chested Smith boasts of the beauty and solitude of the waters off Lindos.
When contacted by the Record, Smith denied any wrongdoing. He said in an email that the claims put to him were made by disgruntled former employees. He claimed that a senior investigator from the Insolvency Service had compiled a report that would not result in any disqualification action.
Smith said he is a multi award-winning director, having won Institute of Directors awards, National Entrepreneur awards and many other accolades. A spokesman for the Insolvency Service said: “We cannot discuss any cases.”
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