Three raids, four arrests, no conviction: What’s next for Signature Living?

Dear readers — Who stayed up to watch the football then? Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane were England’s goalscoring heroes in the Azteca Stadium, but Everton’s Jordan Pickford also put in a brilliant performance in goal as England defeated Mexico 2-3. Scouser Anthony Gordon also featured. (As did Warrington-born Jarell Quansah, but the less said about that the better.) Has this result rekindled any residual patriotism among our readers? Either way, perhaps you'd like to (re)read Laurence's recent agonising over the subject:

Is “Scouse not English” on the wane?

The World Cup is on and England are flying. But are Liverpudlians still determined to miss out?

The PostLaurence Thompson

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The big story

Top line: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped all investigations into Lawrence Kenwright’s Signature Group. So what comes next?

Context: After three raids, four arrests and a drawn out two years process, the SFO has concluded its probe into Signature Group with “no realistic prospect of conviction.”

Signature Group, run by husband and wife team Lawrence and Katie Kenwright, ran for seven years. In that time, they bought up mostly historic buildings within the UK, redeveloping them into luxury hotels, residential apartments and office spaces. Notable projects included 30 James Street and the Shankly and Dixie Dean Hotels on Victoria Street. The Liverpool-based real estate and hotel firm also expanded its reach to Cardiff, Belfast and even London, with a luxury cruise liner moored off Canary Wharf planned to offer “flotel” accommodations to Ibiza. 

These projects were funded by more than a thousand investors both national and international, who either loaned Signature money or bought a hotel room, apartment or office space outright. According to the SFO, these investors were promised returns of between 8% and 15%.

But the company collapsed in 2020, owing its investors up to £140 million. In 2024, the SFO said "people up and down the country" had been left "out of pocket", and “buildings left derelict at the centre of our cities”. Four arrests were made during dawn raids — two in Liverpool, one in Manchester. Over 50 SFO investigators, including digital information specialists, were backed up by the National Crime Agency (NCA) during the raids. 

Speaking in 2024, SFO director Nick Ephgrave said Signature’s scheme "offered attractive returns and used much-loved local landmarks to lure investors". He went on to say, "This is now an active criminal investigation." 

Ephgrave had only joined the SFO a year earlier, after his predecessors’ suffered a series of embarrassing failed investigations and collapsed prosecutions. The Signature probe was the fourth major investigation under Ephgrave’s tenure. But Ephgrave resigned earlier this year, just halfway into his five-year tenure. And at the end of last week, the SFO struck a different tone, saying in a statement that “the evidence in this prosecution no longer satisfies the Full Code Test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors” and that there was “no realistic prospect of conviction.”

The spokesperson continued: “This decision reflects our commitment to making timely judgements about where to focus our resources.  This concludes the SFO’s investigation into Signature Group.” 

The founders: During Signature’s heyday, the Kenwrights were well known and, sometimes, controversial public figures in Liverpool.

In a complimentary Echo feature in 2016, the Walton-born Lawrence — the son of a dockworker — described starting out as a “van boy” for the now defunct Ethel Austins, aged 17. By 23 he’d started his own clothing business — Yes & Co — which he sold to invest in property. But in 2007, he ended up losing £4.5mn after “over leveraging”. But Kenwright wasn’t done. 

“I sold my home, got the money from the house and decided to purchase apartments with the idea of creating group accommodation,” Kenwright said. “We put 15 beds in one of the apartments and that is when it took off.” By 2016, his empire was expected to turn over £250mn. 

A year later, the hotelier was thinking of running for mayor, targeting Nick Small’s Central ward seat. The irascible Small responded by describing Kenwright as a “PR man who's all about his own ego”. In 2018, Lawrence Kenwright was asked by the city council’s solicitor to remove allegations about then deputy mayor Ann O’Byrne’s handling of the New Chinatown development. That same year, the Kenwrights launched a strange competition give-away: offering a course of IVF treatment to celebrate Signature’s birthday. 

Bottom line: Despite no fraud charges being brought by the SFO, the Kenwrights are now out of business once more. A third “rags to riches” story, to quote the Echo, will be a big ask.

Your Post briefing

Lib Dem leader accused of being… too hot? Harry Doyle, Labour’s cabinet member for health on Liverpool city council, has criticised Lib Dem leader Carl Cashman for featuring on Attitude Magazine’s Pride edition front cover. In the accompanying interview, Cashman made an appeal for “positive masculinity”. But Doyle, who is gay, called Cashman’s shirtless appearance “queer baiting” and “using physical sex appeal”. Kevin Robinson-Hale, Lib Dem candidate for Everton West, replied on X that Doyle had a "weird obsession" with Cashman: "As a gay man I am proud to have an ally like Carl," Robinson-Hale wrote, speculating that "maybe it's jealousy?"

Arrests after Wirral stabbing: Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with a blade attack in Heswall. A brawl is thought to have broken out at Heswall Bus Station on Telegraph Road over the weekend resulting in one boy suffering a chest injury and the other a finger injury; neither is thought to be life-threatening. According to one eyewitness, one boy was wrestled to the ground by a heroic stranger who “kicked the knife away,” while another described a woman tending to one of the injured boys with a first aid kit. The arrested boys are aged 15 and 17. 

Post Picks

🎭On Wednesday and Thursday night, the Unity Theatre is hosting Near Miss: a play all about self-discovery through the lens of Scouse identity, told through female lead characters. Doors open at 7.30pm — tickets here.

🎸Also on Thursday: La Perla heads to District. The vocal trio from Bogotá are bringing a night of Cumbia, bullerengue, champeta, merengue, hip-hop and punk. Find out more here. 

🎨And on Friday, the Williamson Art Gallery is running its monthly life drawing session from 6.30pm. All materials are included, and all experience levels are welcome. Find out more here. 

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