Taxpayers’ Funds Invested in Failed App Venture Linked to Sarah Ferguson
LONDON – A technology startup backed by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, collapsed owing creditors hundreds of thousands of pounds, including over £1 million in UK government research and progress tax credits, according to an administrator’s report. vVoosh, an app that was never launched, received approximately £9 million in funding over several years before entering management.
Ferguson was regularly photographed with vVoosh founder, Joao Fernandez, in 2015 and 2016, and they attended Sir Bob Geldof’s wedding together. Both publicly maintained they were simply “good friends,” dismissing speculation of a romantic relationship.
Documents filed by the administrator reveal vVoosh employed teams in both the UK and India, but failed to generate income due to the app’s non-launch. Development stalled when the Indian contractor threatened legal action.
A breakdown in communication occured between current directors and Fernandez, who resigned as a director earlier this year and afterward ceased all communication, the report states. The company is owed £324,609 by a former director, believed to be Fernandez, the only director to leave since 2019. Last summer, Fernandez sold his North London house for £1.3m and is believed to have left the UK.
Ferguson’s company, la Luna Investments, which held just under 1% of vVoosh’s shares, is owed £50,000. Ferguson lost her duchess title when her former husband, Prince Andrew, relinquished his duke of York title following controversy surrounding his association with Jeffrey Epstein, and was later stripped of the title of prince.
vVoosh had over 60 small shareholders, with a concentration in Essex and London, and some based in the United States. Administrators have indicated “important uncertainty” regarding the recovery of funds for creditors.
American backer Mark Guzy invested over £400,000 to maintain “certain essential services” and the value of the software platform, the company’s primary remaining asset.
Originally, vVoosh intended to donate 10% of its profits to a charitable foundation. the Charity commission is now initiating the removal of vVoosh Charitable Foundation from its register due to inactivity, with the foundation being over four-and-a-half years overdue with its reporting. Its last accounts, from 2019, showed £1.28m gross income but only £18,240 spent on charitable activities.
HMRC declined to comment on the tax credits. Guzy and the other directors of vVoosh also declined to comment. Fernandez recently denied allegations of taking money from the firm,stating in the Times that the claims would be “disproven in the course of legal proceedings.”
