Failed Sarah Ferguson-backed app received £1m taxpayers' money

A lifestyle app backed by Sarah Ferguson received more than £1m of taxpayers' money but collapsed without ever launching a product, according to documents filed this week.

vVoosh was founded by Manuel Fernandez, a close friend of Ms Ferguson, who once described herself as an "ambassador" for the company and was an investor.

It promised to give users "the power to Find, Plan, Share, Live, and Remember all the things you love to do - and those you're yet to try."

Ms Ferguson and Mr Fernandez did not respond to requests for comment.

vVoosh was put into administration last month - and its failure will raise further questions about the judgement of the former duchess and the business relationships she pursued.

Last month it emerged that a crypto-currency mining firm had agreed to pay her up to £1.4m for acting as a "brand ambassador" - that firm also failed, allegedly costing investors millions. Its co-founder denied misconduct and said he's working to repay backers.

In September, a number of charities dropped her as a patron or ambassador after an email from 2011 revealed that she called sex offender Jeffrey Epstein her "supreme friend" and seemed to apologise for her public criticism of him.

Manuel Fernandez, 57, went to school at Billericay in Essex, and was a soldier in the Royal Anglian Regiment, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He then held senior sales roles at a number of tech companies before founding vVoosh in 2010.

He was regularly photographed with the then duchess in 2015 and 2016, and they attended Sir Bob Geldof's wedding together, but she denied rumours they were a couple, saying they were just "good friends".

Over the years vVoosh raised approximately £9m, including more than £1m from the UK government through research and development tax credits, according to documents filed by the administrator.

It paid teams in the UK and then India to work on the app, but never launched it, and so had no income to fund further development.

Progress on the app stopped when the Indian contractor threatened legal action.

The administrator's report describes 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 says that the company is owed £324,609 by a former director. This is believed to be Mr Fernandez, who is the only director to leave the company since 2019.

Last summer he sold his house in North London for £1.3m, according to Land Registry documents, 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 just under 1% of the company's shares.

Ms Ferguson, 66, lost her duchess title when her former husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, relinquished use of his Duke of York title over his links with Epstein. He has since been stripped of the title of prince as well.

Documents show the firm had more than 60 other small shareholders - many with addresses in Essex and London, though a few American addresses also appear.

The administrators said that there was "significant uncertainty" over how much money the company's creditors would get back once the company was wound up.

One of the firm's American backers, Mark Guzy, has put more than £400,000 into the company to preserve "certain essential services" and protect the value of its software platform, which is the company's main remaining asset.

vVoosh originally intended to share 10% of its profits with a charitable foundation.

The BBC understands that the Charity Commission has now begun the process of removing vVoosh Charitable Foundation from the register of charities, on the basis that it does not operate.

It is more than four-and-a-half years overdue with its reporting. Its last accounts, from 2019, show that it had £1.28m gross income, but spent only £18,240 on charitable activities.

HMRC declined to respond to questions about the tax credits. Mr Guzy and the other directors of vVoosh declined to comment.

Earlier this month Mr Fernandez denied taking money out of the firm, according to the Times.

He told the newspaper that allegation would be "disproven in the course of legal proceedings".