ASIAN ENTREPRENEUR REUBEN SINGH DECLARED BANKRUPT
(6 November 2007)

Reuben Singh, the British Asian entrepreneur who became famous for his 'Miss Attitude' and 'alldaypa' companies, but more recently for controversy surrounding his wealth and dealings, has filed for bankruptcy (October 2007) as a result of the dispute with the Royal Bank of Scotland. The filing revealed debts of £11.8m, including £9m to a Kuwaiti trading company, around £140,000 on nine credit cards, a £32,500 Inland Revenue penalty payment, a £32,500 HM Customs & Excise bill, and £778,813 owed to his father, Sarabjit Singh.

ABOUT REUBEN SINGH

Reuben Singh was born on 20 September 1976 into a wealthy family who ran a large Manchester wholesaler, Sabco, and had business interests in Canada. They came to England in the 1970s and had a family home in Poynton, an affluent village in Cheshire.His first business, 'Miss Attitude', was a shop which sold girl's accessories (such as hair clips, cosmetics, etc) which opened in 1995 in the Manchester Arndale Centre.

Almost overnight, dozens of stores opened up across the UK, and within a short space of time there were hundreds. He started to appear in the press with stories of this success. Early reports cited his wealth at around £10 million, all this while he was studying for his A-Levels at William Hulme's Grammar School in Manchester. In 1999, Miss Attitude was sold for a reported sum of £22 million pounds, bringing his wealth to around £45 million. The buyer later claimed that the actual sum was just £1.

In 1999, Reuben Singh launched the website alldaypa.com, a 24-hour virtual PA/Secretary service that have acquired GroupTrade.com, the leading online reseller of office supplies, IT equipment and office furniture based in the City of London.

SINGH'S 'CELEBRITY STATUS'

Singh regularly appeared in printed media and on television, and was hailed by many as the British Bill Gates. He enjoyed the comparison, and stated in interviews that he aimed to beat Bill Gate's record by becoming the world's youngest self-made billionaire by the time he is 30 (although this was not achieved by September 2006 when he turned 30). He was often pictured alongside a Bentley Continental, supposedly the only banana-yellow model in the world and costing a reported £270,000.

His appeared in the 1998 Guinness Book of Records as the world's youngest self-made millionaire with a fortune of £27.5m (the entry was subsequently disqualified) and featured in various rich lists such as 'The Sunday Times' and 'Fortune'. He was invited by Prime Minister Tony Blair onto a DTI advisory panel on small business and competitiveness. Alongside Sir Alan Sugar and Sir Richard Branson he was appointed one of the five UK ambassadors for entrepreneurship. His portrait was included in the UK National Portrait Gallery.

He also won many awards for his business and entrepreneurship, such as the National Business Awards 2002, Microsoft New Business of the Year 2002, The Times 500 "Most Powerful under 30-year old in Britain", Times 500 Most Powerful Individuals as "Most Powerful under 30-year old in Britain".

FINANCIAL TROUBLES

In 2002, an article in the Manchester Evening News - followed a few days later by an article in the Financial Mail - contained damning information regarding his business ventures. The articles called him little more than a fantasist and that his wealth and business success was considerably less than he claimed. It also revealed that the buyer of Miss Attitude, American financier Gary Klesch, claimed to have bought the debt-laden business for £1. Singh himself told Sathnam Sanghera of the Financial Times that "these stories are just rumours based on jealousy and are a total misrepresentation", adding that a confidentiality clause prohibited him from discussing the matter.

Alldaypa.com was also a failure and suffered huge financial losses. The company was bailed out by his parents who bought the company and called in administrators to try and turn the company around. They reduced his role from director to consultant. Another company set up by Singh, a health food company called Robson & Steinberg, folded after less than a year of trading, with debts of £250,000. Mr Singh was the only director and sole shareholder.

Further problems arose in relation to a multimillion pound overdraft. He was recently sued by the Royal Bank of Scotland, with judge Michael Kershaw QC ordering Singh to pay the bank £1,229,966 for an overdraft they claimed was secured under false pretenses, and their legal costs. The judge commented, "(The banker) was, I think, to some extent a victim of Mr Singh's personality as well as Mr Singh's lies."

BANKRUPTCY

In October 2007, Singh was forced to file for bankruptcy, as a result of the dispute with the Royal Bank of Scotland. The filing revealed debts of £11.8m, including £9m to a Kuwaiti trading company, around £140,000 on nine credit cards, a £32,500 Inland Revenue penalty payment, a £32,500 HM Customs & Excise bill, and £778,813 to his father, Sarabjit Singh. He had also fallen £12,000 behind in payments for one of his cars. As a result of being bankrupt, his assets have been frozen and he cannot obtain credit or be director of a limited company.