Sarah Ferguson-Backed App Collapses After Receiving Over £1m in Public Funds

A tech start-up supported by Sarah Ferguson has gone into administration after receiving more than £1 million in government-backed research and development tax credits, despite never releasing a product.

vVoosh, a lifestyle app founded by Manuel Fernandez – a long-time friend of the former Duchess of York – was marketed as a platform that would help users organise and share activities they enjoy. Ferguson had previously described herself as an “ambassador” for the venture and was listed as an investor.

Both she and Fernandez declined to comment on the company’s collapse.

The business, which raised around £9 million over several years, was formally placed into administration last month. According to filings, development stalled after a dispute with an Indian contractor, leaving the company with no viable path to launch. With no product and no revenue, vVoosh ran out of the cash needed to continue operating.

Administrators also reported a breakdown in communication between the remaining directors and Fernandez, who resigned earlier this year and then stopped responding to the company. The report states that vVoosh is owed £324,609 by a former director – understood to be Fernandez, who sold his North London home for £1.3 million last year and is believed to have left the country.

The business still owes £50,000 to La Luna Investments, one of Ferguson’s companies, which held just under 1% of vVoosh’s shares. More than 60 other small shareholders, mostly based in London and Essex, are also likely to face losses.

Administrators warned that there is “significant uncertainty” over how much creditors will recover once the firm is fully wound down. One major US investor, Mark Guzy, has put more than £400,000 towards keeping essential services running to preserve the value of the company’s remaining asset – its software platform.

The company had pledged to donate 10% of future profits to a dedicated charitable arm. However, the vVoosh Charitable Foundation is now being removed from the Charity Commission’s register after years of inactivity and overdue reporting.

HMRC declined to comment on the £1 million-plus tax credits paid to the company. Fernandez has previously denied misusing funds, telling The Times that such claims would be disproven through legal processes.

vVoosh’s downfall adds to growing scrutiny around Ferguson’s business associations. She recently faced controversy over a failed cryptocurrency mining firm that had agreed to pay her up to £1.4 million for acting as a brand ambassador. Several charities severed ties with her earlier this year after the resurfacing of an email describing Jeffrey Epstein as her “supreme friend”.

Fernandez, who attended school in Billericay and served in the Royal Anglian Regiment before moving into tech sales, founded vVoosh in 2010. He was frequently photographed with Ferguson in the mid-2010s, though she has previously dismissed speculation that they were romantically involved.