Kroll Advisory, the administrator of Arena TV, is set to sue Lloyds Banking Group and its subsidiary, Bank of Scotland, for £285 million. According to a report in The Times, the claim asserts that the banks enabled Arena TV’s directors to commit significant fraud against multiple lenders.
Kroll alleges that Richard Yeowart, Arena’s owner, and Robert Hopkinson, its co-director, misappropriated over £1.2 billion in proceeds from asset-based lending involving more than 55 different lenders. The misappropriated funds represent one of the largest frauds in the history of UK asset-based lending (ABL), as reported by the Sunday Times in December 2021.
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By GlobalDataCourt documents reveal a stark discrepancy in Arena TV’s asset claims. Of the 8,196 assets with outstanding loans, only 66 have been verified as existing.
In response to the lawsuit, Lloyds Banking Group stated: “Lloyds Banking Group intends to defend the claim. As this matter is now the subject of ongoing litigation, we don’t intend to comment further at this stage.”
Arena TV collapsed in November 2021 under the weight of over £282 million in debt.
Yeowart and Hopkinson were subsequently tried in France in 2023, with Yeowart being tried in absentia as he remains at large. According to the AFP, police seized gold bullion, cash, two cars, and two homes valued at €1.4 million (£1.2m), alongside fake identity cards, counterfeit driving licences, and wigs.
The Serious Fraud Office has also launched an investigation into the matter. In 2022, they arrested and questioned two individuals and searched three additional sites. This investigation is still ongoing.
Arena TV, founded in 1988, became the UK’s largest independent outside broadcaster, providing services for high-profile sports and music events such as the UEFA European Football Championship for ITV Sport and the Glastonbury Festival for the BBC.
