The Apprentice winner’s business goes bust with £2million owed

The Apprentice winner Joseph Valente’s business has gone bust and he now owes nearly £2 million.

The businessman, who won the 2015 series of the BBC competition, set up his plumbing company ImpraGas with the help of Lord Alan Sugar’s £250,000 investment, however, the Daily Mirror reports he’s now facing trouble.

According to the publication, one creditor claims Valente commissioned work and alleges he must have known his firm was in trouble, . 

Nathan Oselton, of One Word Graphics, is owed £2500 and slammed: ‘I feel pretty angry and mad about the way the company has behaved, it has always been a bit of a struggle getting paid.’

Oselton continued: ‘My accountant has looked at the paperwork from the liquidators and it does not look like he was making money for quite a while.’

According to reports, Valente owes another boss thousands of pounds and they commented: ‘I don’t think you could print what I actually want to say about him.’

In total, 34 companies are owed £1.95million. The largest creditor is Woodhouse Sturnham, which is short of £819,000, followed by another plumbing merchant, Wolsley, which is owed £280,000.

Valente started the business after he was crowned champion of the BBC series.

At the time, he enthused: ‘I’m the definition of success I’m the godfather of business and I’m here to make Lord Sugar a lot of money.’

Valente took full control of the company in 2017 but just before coronavirus lockdown began in March, the business went into creditors’ voluntary liquidation.

Valente told the publication: ‘We had to shut down part of the organisation and it meant that some creditors were not paid.

‘Our main priority was that staff kept their jobs and our customers were looked after.

‘The intellectual property of the company was sold to another company and the old company was put into liquidation. 

‘The majority of creditors continue to trade with the new company. At every moment we were trading to keep the company alive.’