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As Petra Ecclestone winds up accessories business Stark with liabilities of £4.3m ICSM notes just because owners are rich doesn’t mean they can find success in business

ICSM’s Ian Carrotte has criticised the failed business run by Petra Ecclestone’s accessories business after it was wound up with liabilities of £4.3m.

He said: “It’s another case of a wealthy person thinking they can start a high end business and make a success of it just because they are famous. There’s always been doubts about Mrs Beckham’s fashion house and is it really in profit – and then the case recently of Kate and Pippa Middleton’s brother James’s confectionary company Boomf crashing with millions in debt. There is only one way to succeed in business and that is to use some basic housekeeping rules. Don’t run up debts, don’t pay yourself more than the business can afford and have a sound business plan complete with a cash flow forecast. But above all create a business around something you know really well.”

Named Stark, Petra Ecclestone called her handbag business the unusual name after apparently her billionaire father, Bernie, said the idea was ‘Stark Raving Mad’. The firm that sold handbags made from snake and crocodile skin at £1,000 a go had net liabilities of approximately £4.3 million, and was removed from the Companies House register and dissolved this autumn. It’s the second time she has seen a business fail having seen the demise of clothing firm Form previously.

Ian Carrotte said: “Lady Gaga went bust in 2009, but she bounced back with a successful string of music hits. Donald Trump famously has seen six companies go bust including a casino despite all his father’s money and celebrities like Martine McCutcheon and Kerry Katona have hit the skids because of their lifestyle expectations – it other words they have lived beyond their means – which is essentially what happens with failed businesses. Cut your cloth this winter to suit the situation your business finds itself in.”

About ICSM Credit

ICSM Credit has more than four decades of experience as a credit intelligence group whose members gain inside information about firms in trouble allowing them to avoid bad debts and rogue traders. To join costs less than a tank of fuel - while at the moment there's a special free temporary membership offer during the Covid-19 crisis which gives access to free legal letters. ICSM also has an effective debt collecting service which has a global reach - ask for details from Paul.

For details about ICSM Credit call 0844 854 1850 or visit the website www.icsmcredit.com or email Ian at Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com on how to subscribe and to join the UK’s credit intelligence network to avoid bad debts and late payers. Follow ICSM Credit on FaceBook, Twitter and YouTube and Ian Carrotte on LinkedIn.

To keep up to date subscribe to the FREE ICSM Credit Newsletter to hear all the latest insolvency news and to see who has gone out of business click on the orange panel on the top left of the home page of the website www.icsmcredit.com or send an email to Ian.carrotte@icsmcredit.com

For details for the work of the journalist Harry Mottram visit www.harrymottram.co.uk