Shamed tycoon ‘marched out by bailiffs’ after £2m court defeat

Stephen Hinchliffe, the former boss of the Facia retail empire, has been visited by bailiffs after failing to pay more than £2m awarded to brothers Shaun and Alex Smith following a High Court ruling.

The Yorkshire Post understands Mr Hinchliffe and his wife Marjorie have been escorted out of their Peak District mansion, High Peak Hall in Hope, Derbyshire.

The Edwardian property is now for sale by consent of the court with Saxton Mee in Sheffield and is offered with vacant possession for offers over £1.1m.

A judge ruled in 2010 that Mr and Mrs Hinchliffe, formerly of Dore, “conspired with intent” to unlawfully “wrest control” of umbrella firm Hoyland Fox from the brothers and their parents in 2008. The Smiths were awarded damages of £1.6m last December.

The Hinchliffe’s assets have been frozen since 2009 and those still undiscovered – understood to include a vintage Aston Martin and a Range Rover – will remain so until they have fully repaid. Shaun Smith said he was relieved the case was finally nearing conclusion after almost five years.

He said: “It has been very expensive and very drawn-out. It’s been an awfully long time and it’s never far from your thoughts.”

Mr Hinchliffe last night claimed the case had been a “miscarriage of justice” and maintained: “When you go to court, you do not get justice, you get a verdict.”

He was jailed for five years, reduced to four on appeal, in 2001 for bribing a bank manager to secure loans worth £12.5m to Facia, which collapsed owing £70m in 1996.

The group was valued at up to £100m at its peak and included high street names such as Sock Shop, Saxone, and Red or Dead

In 2003, Mr Hinchliffe was jailed for 18 months for siphoning off £1.75m from the group when he was its executive chairman. He invoiced Facia with bogus or exaggerated consultancy fees and spent the cash on luxuries.