'Bowes living in £1.8m mansion'

Ida Bowes said her ex-husband and discredited pubco boss Alan 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 London & Edinburgh Swallow Group 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 is being pursued for £60,000 by Criterion Asset Management following the collapse of her husband's empire.

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