Criterion chases Bowes' ex-wife

Ida Bowes owes £60,000 to Criterion Asset Management under a privity of contract deal she signed with her ex-husband. She talks to John Harrington

The ex-wife of discredited pubco boss Alan Bowes is still paying the financial cost of her links to his pub empire.

Ida Bowes is being chased for £60,000 in unpaid rent by Criterion Asset Management on a former London & Edinburgh Swallow Group (LESG) pub under a privity-of-contract clause.

Named on the leases

In an exclusive interview with the MA, Ida spoke frankly about her time with the ex-LESG executive chairman, who she said is currently living in a £1.8m mansion in Edinburgh

(see right).

Ida, who is chasing Alan for £300,000 of

a £1m divorce settlement dating back to 2005, said she was named on the leases at a

couple of sites run by London Inn Group, which later became London & Edinburgh Inns, then LESG.

This included the Good Intent in Portsmouth, which is owned by Wellington Pub Company. Ida assigned the head lease to LESG in July 2006 but the privity-of-contract clause meant she was responsible for payments after the company went into administration two months later.

Pursued through the courts

Criterion, which manages the Wellington Pub Company estate, is chasing her for unpaid rent of £60,000 for the year to December 2007.

Criterion has managed to secure a court charge meaning that it can force the sale of one of Ida's properties, bought with her divorce settlement, if she doesn't pay the money by February 2008.

Criterion operations director Peter

Gullis said: "At the time Mr and Mrs Bowes entered into the lease on the Good Intent they fully understood the covenants contained within.

"The lease is fully assignable and Mrs Bowes has been advised that, subject to complying with the covenants, she can freely assign.

"Any premium she receives on the assignment does remain with her; neither Criterion Asset Management or the Wellington Pub Company enjoys any benefit from the premium."

the collapse of both business and marriage

Ida Bowes said her ex-husband is living in a £1.8m mansion in Edinburgh, which is owned by a limited company.

Speculation has been rife about the whereabouts of Alan Bowes' since he went into hiding after LESG fell into administration in September 2006. The collapse left hundreds of pub tenants in the lurch and many were forced to deal directly with their pubs' freehold owners.

Ida said: "He owes me £300,000 in alimony, so how can he live in a £1.8m mansion?"

Ida is still in contact with Alan, on occasion, mainly about their 14-year-old son Kelvin who lives with his father. But most of the time she talks to Alan's girlfriend Andrena Salter.

Alan and Ida met in 1993, shortly after he was banned from holding company directorships for seven years following the collapse of his All Time Great group of companies.

They formed the Kingston Inn Company (KIC), which sublet disused pubco sites, mainly on temporary tenancies. Ida was listed as a company director.

At its height the firm was turning over £1m but folded in 1995. Another company was set up and started accumulating many of the former KIC sites. By the time the couple split in 2001, London Inns and other companies such as Firstafter and Newlord had amassed more than 250 pubs - a number that had moved past 700 when LESG collapsed last year.

Following a four-year divorce battle,

Alan agreed to a settlement of almost £1m in 2005 - £250,000 upfront, a house and £10,000 a month for five years.

Unfortunately for Ida, payments stopped after LESG's collapse. Alan was declared bankrupt in February this year. Ida is currently training to be a journalist and

runs a car-services business with her

new partner.

Ida Bowes on:

l The day LESG collapsed: "I heard about it on the radio. I did a double take: 'Did they say Swallow Hotels has gone down the pan? That would explain why I didn't have my payment in August.' I was jumping up and down and saying, 'where's my payment?' I shot down to Maidstone to get it confirmed. I thought it was one of his hoaxes."

l The reasons for LESG's collapse: "Alan is a very clever man. I suppose he did take his eye off the ball. It didn't surprise me when it hit the ground.

"It just got too big - it went from 250 pubs to more than 700.

"Alan builds webs within webs within webs and it just snowballs. It was extraordinary to watch, but not good for all those people who lost their jobs."

l The divorce proceedings: "I went through court order after court order. The accountant told me there was no liquidity in the business even though it was worth millions and millions of pounds. I said I would take half the business off him. The accountant said I couldn't because of various agreements such as Winlease [with Carlsberg]. In the end he offered me nearly £1m - £250,000 to start with, the house in Scotland transferred to my name, and £10,000 a month for five years."

l Living with Alan: "He loved the limelight. He loved the golf tournaments in Portugal. He would throw great big parties and wouldn't let anyone pay for things.

"Christmas parties were the biggest event of

the year. We had everything - caviar, fresh prawns. We had golf tours once a year and cricket.

"That was just Alan. A lot of people say he was a b****** in business. I never saw that side of him -

but I never worked for him.

"Sometimes we look back and think, was it all just a front? He was very good at manipulating people.

"I don't think I was [manipulated]. He didn't use my money to set anything up."