Former defence secretary Sir Gavin Williamson has severed ties with a loss-making fintech as it grapples with a winding up petition.
Sir Gavin had acted as an advisory board member for payments group Lanistar, which is being chased by a creditor over unpaid debt claims and also recently parted company with its chief executive, Jeremy Baber.
Sir Gavin joined the group, which has burned through millions of pounds in an effort to compete against the likes of Monzo and Revolut, as an adviser in October last year.
A spokesman for the former Conservative minister said he had left his role as an advisory board member at the company ahead of the exit of Mr Baber.
Mr Baber departed the business last week, days after it emerged a creditor was pursuing the company over unpaid debts.
“Prior to the chief executive’s departure, Sir Gavin had already ceased to have any involvement with Lanistar,” a spokesman for his office said.
Lanistar was launched four years ago in a publicity blitz that included posts from Manchester City footballer Kevin de Bruyne and Love Island stars Amber Rose Gill and Tommy Fury.
It has been heavily promoted by online celebrities, boasts more than 200,000 Instagram followers, and its website states its services are “built for the influencer lifestyle”.
The Conservative MP’s register of members’ interests continues to list Sir Gavin as an adviser to the company, where it says he “will provide guidance, attend meetings and contribute ideas”. It adds he will be paid in shares.
Sir Gavin’s role was cleared last year by Parliament’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, which noted the role would see Sir Gavin “attend investor meetings to help promote Lanistar”.
A report in Financial News alleged Lanistar was in arrears on its rent and service charge.
The winding up petition was brought by 361 Hammersmith Ltd, the office where Lanistar is based.
Lanistar has not commented on the petition, although last week Mr Baber said it was “boring”, in a response to inquiries by Financial News.
The company was founded by Gurhan Kiziloz in 2019 as part of his goal of creating a “£1bn fintech unicorn” to “truly challenge the status quo”, according to Lanistar’s website.
Unaudited accounts for Lanistar show it lost £4.1m last year and £2.5m in 2022.
In 2020, Lanistar was the subject of a warning by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ahead of a planned launch, although this was later removed.
At the time, the FCA said Lanistar had “agreed to add an appropriate disclaimer to its marketing materials updating its regulatory status to confirm that it is not conducting regulated activities”.
Its payments app is not currently available in the UK, but the company has launched in Brazil. Its website says a UK offering will be live “very soon”.
Mr Baber, who had been Lanistar’s chief executive since 2022, said: “I enjoyed my time at Lanistar and wish the team well.”
Sir Gavin was previously defence secretary in Theresa May’s government between 2017 and 2019.
Mr Kiziloz and Lanistar were contacted for comment.
