Kings saviour’s web of lies

ABOVE PAY GRADE: Cheeky Watson referred questions to Saru. Picture: MARK WEST

Investigation unearths bankruptcy and false information

A BANKRUPT businessman with an unregistered UK firm and false business address is the “saviour” Eastern Province rugby is relying on to bail it out of an ongoing crisis.

Christopher Wishlade, 45, of Integrated Sport, emerged in court papers last month as the mystery equity partner managing a deal to acquire a 49% stake in the EP Kings, with a much-needed cash injection of R100-million.

But an investigation by The Herald has revealed that:

• Integrated Sport is not a registered company in the UK;
• Wishlade was declared bankrupt in June 2010 and again in April last year;
• A company he formed in 2005 was liquidated two years later, with 11 creditors owed £142 864 (about R3-million);
• The Barcelona Football Club, which Wishlade claims was a client, says it has never worked with him; and
• The address on the Integrated Sport website belongs to Kensington Pavilion, an exclusive business club, where the receptionist had never heard of Wishlade or his company.

While 36 professional rugby players wanted the EP Rugby Union (EPRU) wound up so its debts – including their unpaid salaries – could be settled, lawyers for EP countered with a proposal for business rescue.

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