The former owner of a Perthshire hotel has denied claims it financed crimes including slavery and murder.
Dunkeld House was until earlier this month co-owned by Downing LLP.
And this week allegations have been levelled at the investment company by Staines Town Football Club, another business it is involved with.
The Surrey-based non-league side suspended operations on Tuesday and accused landlord Downing LLP of modern slavery, corruption and breaching of Russian sanctions imposed by the UK government.
In a statement, the London firm hit back at its accusers, singling out Staines Town owner Joe Dixon for criticism.
‘Allegations are untrue’
It said: “The allegations published by Mr Dixon on the Staines Town Football Club (STFC) website against Downing LLP (Downing) and The Thames Club (TTC) (a company in which funds managed by Downing hold an investment) are untrue.
“They would appear to be the latest attempt by Mr Dixon to deflect attention from his mismanagement of Staines Town FC over a number of years and this has left the club in a parlous financial position.
“STFC has enjoyed the benefit of a lease from TTC, its landlord, at a peppercorn rent. Regrettably for a prolonged period, STFC has fallen into arrears on the payment of its service charge under the lease and other debts, which means it has an increasing number of unpaid creditors.
“The fact that STFC is ceasing operations has nothing to do with TTC or Downing.
“Nor is it connected to the alleged breaches of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (Act) by Downing.
“This is a construct and does not bear scrutiny not least because none of Downing, TTC or indeed STFC qualify as a ‘commercial organisation’ for the purpose of the Act as they do not meet the financial thresholds set by the Secretary of State.
‘Baseless claims’
“That is not to suggest that Downing and TTC operate with anything other than the highest ethical standards.
“The allegation that Downing has breached any Russia sanctions legislation is also wholly untrue.
“Mr Dixon’s logic appears to be that because funds managed by Downing hold an investment in a regulated financial institution listed on the Swiss stock exchange, alongside BlackRock, UBS and a number of pension funds, Downing is breaching sanctions because the Swiss entity has some Russian interests.
“However that institution is not itself sanctioned and has subsidiaries which are regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority and are also not sanctioned.
“This is the sole justification for Mr Dixon’s baseless claims.
“The remainder of the wild allegations made by Mr Dixon should be viewed in the context of the above.”
Hilton sold Dunkeld House in 2016 to Dunkeld House Hotel LLP, a partnership between Arnold Schnegg, James Hawksworth and funds managed by Downing LLP.
But two weeks ago Downing LLP – which has £1.5 billion in funds under management – announced the sale of the four-star country resort which sits on the banks of the River Tay.
The firm said: “We are pleased to announce the sale of Dunkeld House Hotel to a consortium consisting of a UK based financial investor and hotel operator.
“This sale concludes a successful investment period for Downing, which began in 2016.
“We originally invested alongside management to acquire, refurbish, and reposition the hotel.
‘New owners set to invest’
“The initial refurbishment was completed in 2017 and additional sums have been invested over the course of the investment to further enhance the quality of the hotel.
“We successfully completed the rebranding and first stage of the value enhancement over its six-year holding period, the new owners will now take on the asset to invest further capital for expansion of the facilities to realise the full potential of the estate to match growing demand for Scottish upmarket leisure offerings.”
Dunkeld House Hotel declined to comment.
Downing LLP also bought a controlling stake in broadband provider Broadway Partners from Souter Investments last year.
Stagecoach co-founder Sir Brian Souter holds a substantial part of his wealth within Souter Investments, who also declined to comment.
