Paramount resort: Accounting error claims £291,000 in the bank when developer LRCH actually had £952

Bosses behind plans for a Paramount resort in Kent wrongly claimed their company had more than £291,000 in the bank, when in fact it had cash reserves of just £952.

The accounting error occured in the 2013 accounts for London Resort Company Holdings, which is developing plans for the £3.2 billion London Paramount entertainment resort on the Swanscombe Peninsula between Gravesend and Dartford.

The mistake only came to light in the firm’s latest figures filed to Companies House, which showed the developer made pre-tax losses of more than £14.4 million in 2014.

Developers hope the resort will be open - without the Paramount branding - in 2023
Developers hope the resort will be open - without the Paramount branding - in 2023

It also showed the company had just £49 in the bank by the end of 2014 and had net liabilities of more than £13.1 million.

Accountanting practice Griffins also said the business owed £2 million more than it did in 2013 after missing share capital and share premiums owned by the firm.

Its latest accounts were audited by BDO LLP.

“We don’t keep funds sat in the account for no reason, so you wouldn’t expect us to be holding on to an unallocated cash fund..." - Fenlon Dunphy, LRCH

London Resort Company Holdings relies on its majority owner Kuwaiti European Holding Company (KEHC) for its funding, owned by real estate investor Dr Abdullah Al-Humaidi.

The company, which has overdue accounts, also owns Ebbsfleet United Football Club and a number of other sports ventures.

London Resort Company Holdings said that sufficient funds had been placed to finance the business for the next 12 months and throughout the planning phase.

It said shareholders had agreed to support the cost of the planning application process but admitted that if the planning application fails, the company would seek to cease trading.

In September, bosses revealed they had pushed back – for a second time – their target to submit a planning application to the summer of this year, with a proposed opening date of 2021.

Swanscombe Peninsula is where developers want to build the London Paramount resort
Swanscombe Peninsula is where developers want to build the London Paramount resort

LRCH director Fenlon Dunphy said: “The accounting error is just that, an erroneous timing error that was corrected.

“Given the spending of £14m that year – and more still in 2015 and this year – the accounting ‘snapshot’ is a 1% correction in timing only; it does not impact the overall spend on the project.

“It’s worth noting that the 2013 accounting data point was just weeks after the acquisition of LRCH by KEH.

“We don’t keep funds sat in the account for no reason, so you wouldn’t expect us to be holding on to an unallocated cash fund; we draw down money as and when required to meet our bills.”

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