Sarah Ferguson was once only too pleased to be associated with Manuel Fernandez, a former British Army soldier turned film producer and entrepreneur.
The pair were photographed in the south of France, northern Spain and at the chalet she co-owned with Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, in Verbier, Switzerland, in 2015. She even brought him as her plus one to Bob Geldof’s wedding.
The next year, she became an investor and brand ambassador at his latest venture, and agreed to serve on the board of its affiliated charity. The London tech start-up, vVoosh, offered a “revolutionary” service connecting people with shared interests. Ferguson declared Fernandez a “wonderful person”, a “friend” and a “business partner” and helped him raise money and introduced him to investors with deep pockets.
The chalet in Verbier, Switzerland
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Fast-forward a decade and their entanglement looks like the latest footnote in a career of business misadventures.
While vVoosh filed for administration last month, Fernandez has left the country. He is said to taken large sums out of the company — allegations he adamantly denies and says will be disproven in the course of legal proceedings. What is not disputed is that, after courting millions from investors, his company never launched a long-promised app which he said would offer customers the “power to find, plan, share, live and remember the things you love to do”.
Its sister charity — which has been cited as an example of Ferguson’s philanthropy, and purports to help “relieve poverty” and “promote good health and education in disadvantaged areas throughout the world” — has not spent a penny. The Charity Commission now intends to shut it down, after concluding it never conducted any charitable work.
A source said: “We have now instigated the formal removal of the charity from the Register of Charities on the basis that it does not operate.”
Ferguson and Fernandez at the 2016 London ePrix motor-racing event in Battersea Park
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The collapse marks the culmination of a saga which reached a head earlier this year. In March, Fernandez stepped down after being confronted by investors about delays to the product and concerns about his work. According to sources, its largest backer had threatened to remove him during talks held in the US. Last month, an administrator was appointed to wind up the company.
Fernandez, 57, a Briton of Irish and Spanish descent, grew up near Basildon, Essex, and served in the Royal Anglian Regiment before establishing himself in Totteridge, north London. After resigning from vVoosh, he is said to have immediately gone to Italy. A source said: “He disappeared.” Land Registry documents reveal he recently sold his house for £1.3 million.
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All this poses awkward questions of Ferguson, who, according to sources, was repeatedly warned not to work with Fernandez. His film production firm was forcibly struck off in 2018, two years after they started work together. This, and his apparent determination to use Ferguson as an “in” with her ultra-wealthy friends and contacts, fuelled speculation that he could prove a public relations liability for her.
A source said: “She did not want to hear it.” After being introduced to Fernandez by a mutual friend, she decided he was trustworthy and honourable.
In fact, in 2020, Gate Ventures, a theatre investment company co-founded by Ferguson and the former BBC and ITV boss Lord Grade, loaned vVoosh £36,000. Gate — which has since been placed into administration — was subsequently forced to admit it was an “error” not to divulge the former duchess’s friendship with Fernandez in company accounts describing the unusual agreement. Ferguson did not apologise, insisting she had made all the relevant disclosures internally.
The latest company collapse marks another setback for Ferguson, who was recently stripped of her title, told to leave her long-term residence at Royal Lodge and forced to apologise after an email emerged in which she called Jeffrey Epstein her “supreme friend”.
It also places her under fresh financial pressure just as she seeks to rebuild her life and find a new home. She holds about one per cent of the shares in vVoosh, which, in its accounts up to May 2024, had net assets of £7 million (it is now insolvent). She does not own the equity directly, but through a company, La Luna Investments, of which she is sole owner.
La Luna is one of six dormant companies of which she is registered as a director and person of significant control. The others are Librasol Limited, whose filings say it specialises in “artistic creation”; Fergie’s Farm, which draws its name from a children’s book she wrote; S. Phoenix Events Ltd, a “public relations” firm, and two which do not provide information about their work on Companies House: Philanthrepreneur Ltd and Solamoon Ltd. Another, Loonasol Ltd, was dormant for years but recently resumed trading and owns trademarks for branded luggage and linens.
Ferguson is also director of Ginger & Moss, a defunct tea, dinnerware and jewellery brand which, according to its accounts, owes more than £300,000. Most of it — £229,857 of £304,613 — must be paid over the next year.
Her other active company is Coat Company Productions Limited, which she co-founded with Cavan Mahony, an American entrepreneur who lives in England. Mahony previously ran the UK arm of an Italian fashion house, but her company was placed into administration owing creditors, including HMRC, millions of pounds. She ran a Spanish firm which suffered a similar fate.
Cavan Mahony
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In 2020, she published a children’s book, Clara and the Magic Circles. Ferguson wrote a foreword to the book saying: “Cavan and I are fellow travellers of miracles and magic. We share our views and visions in order to learn and grow into our authentic selves.” She added that she was proud to have played a role in bringing the book to fruition.
Ferguson has not revealed where she intends to stay after leaving Royal Lodge, but is reported to have decided to live separately from her ex-husband.
The Sun newspaper reported last week that she was already plotting a post-Andrew relaunch and wanted to begin new ventures in the “female positivity world”.
Friends have described her as entrepreneurial and enthusiastic, although her commercial ventures have repeatedly led to controversy. In 2010, she was filmed undercover offering access to Andrew for £500,000. She was also embroiled in a recent High Court battle over payments made to her and her ex-husband by a Turkish businessman.
Ferguson declined to comment. Fernandez did not comment, citing the ongoing legal process.
