A lifestyle application supported by Sarah Ferguson received over £1 million in taxpayer funds, only to collapse without launching a product, according to recently filed documents.
vVoosh was founded by Manuel Fernandez, a close associate of Ms. Ferguson, who previously identified herself as an “ambassador” and investor in the company.
The app purported to empower users to “Find, Plan, Share, Live, and Remember all the things you love to do – and those you’re yet to try.”
Neither Ms. Ferguson nor Mr. Fernandez have responded to requests for comment.
vVoosh entered administration last month, and its failure is poised to amplify scrutiny of the former duchess’s judgment and her pursued business associations.
Over its lifespan, the company amassed approximately £9 million in funding, including over £1 million from the UK government via research and development tax credits, administrator filings reveal.
Teams in the UK and India were contracted to develop the application, but its failure to launch resulted in a lack of income to sustain further development.
Progress on the app stalled when the Indian contractor threatened legal action.
The administrator’s report cites a “breakdown in communication between the current directors/major creditors and the founder [Mr. Fernandez], who ceased communication following [his] resignation as a director earlier in the year.”
The report indicates that a former director owes the company £324,609, believed to be Mr. Fernandez, the only director to have departed since 2019.
Land Registry documents indicate that he sold his North London residence for £1.3 million last summer and is believed to have left the UK.
Meanwhile, vVoosh owes £50,000 to one of Ms. Ferguson’s companies, La Luna Investments, which also held slightly under 1% of vVoosh’s shares.
Records show the firm had over 60 other minor shareholders, largely based in Essex and London, with a few American addresses also listed.
Administrators have expressed “significant uncertainty” regarding the extent of creditor repayment upon the company’s winding up.
One of the firm’s American backers, Mark Guzy, has invested over £400,000 to maintain “certain essential services” and safeguard the value of its software platform, the company’s primary remaining asset.
Originally, vVoosh intended to allocate 10% of its profits to a charitable foundation.
Sources indicate to the BBC that the Charity Commission has initiated the removal of vVoosh Charitable Foundation from the charity register, citing its non-operational status.
It is over four and a half years overdue with its reporting.
HMRC has declined to address inquiries concerning the tax credits. Mr. Guzy and the other directors of vVoosh have also declined to comment.
Earlier this month, Mr. Fernandez disputed allegations of misappropriating funds from the firm, according to The Times.
He informed the newspaper that the allegation would be “disproven in the course of legal proceedings.”
Ms. Ferguson, 66, lost her duchess title following her former husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, relinquishing his Duke of York title due to his association with Jeffrey Epstein. He has since been stripped of the title of prince as well.
Last month, reports emerged that a cryptocurrency mining firm agreed to pay her up to £1.4 million for serving as a “brand ambassador”; that firm also collapsed, allegedly costing investors millions. Its co-founder denied misconduct and stated he was working to reimburse backers.
In September, several charities dropped her as a patron or ambassador following the emergence of a 2011 email in which she referred to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as her “supreme friend” and appeared to apologize for her public criticism of him.
Mr. Fernandez attended school in Billericay, Essex, and served in the Royal Anglian Regiment, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Subsequently, he held senior sales positions at various tech companies before establishing vVoosh in 2010.
He was routinely photographed with the then-duchess in 2015 and 2016, and they attended Sir Bob Geldof’s wedding together, but she dismissed rumors of a romantic relationship, clarifying that they were merely “good friends.”
Correction 6 December: An earlier version included financial figures for vVoosh charitable foundation, taken from the Charity Commission website, but the charity never traded.
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