Lawrence Kenwright has been banned from being a company director.
Kenwright founded the Signature Group which operated a chain of hotels including ones affiliated with the families of Bill Shankly and Dixie Dean.
But the Liverpool businessman was struck off after allowing one of his companies to mislead investors who suffered £4.8 million in losses.
Signature Works Gold Ltd promoted desk space for sale in three city centre properties which the Insolvency Service claimed contained ‘containing false and misleading information’.
Signature Group were also placed under investigation by the Serious Fraud Offfice over a two-year period from 2024 before the case was dropped in July.
Both Kenwright and his wife, Katie Kenwright, had filed for bankruptcy in January 2024 with their business empire owing more than £100M to creditors.
But the 60-year-old is also now disqualified from acting as a company director until 2031 as part of an undertaking signed just days before a scheduled trial.
Kevin Read, Insolvency Service’s chief investigator, said: “Lawrence Kenwright’s failures as a company director had serious consequences for investors, who suffered losses of more than £4.8M as a result of false and misleading marketing material.
“While Kenwright is not accused of direct fraud, his conduct nevertheless falls well below the standards we expect of company directors.
“Directors have a responsibility to ensure investment information issued in their company’s name is accurate and can be relied upon.
“The Insolvency Service will continue to take action against directors who fail in those responsibilities, helping to maintain confidence in the UK’s business environment.”