Britain’s worst cowboy builder who fleeced customers out of more than £1.25m to fund luxury holidays and gambling is jailed for 14 years

Britain’s worst rogue housebuilder faces 14 years behind bars after callously stealing more than £1.25 million from dozens of customers to fund luxury holidays and his gambling habit.

Mark Killick, known to customers as Marc Cole, dishonestly received payment for work that was never completed, leaving his victims’ homes in a ‘truly shocking’ state.

The footage captured the moment justice finally caught up with the serial fraudster, from Paulton, Somerset, as he was taken into custody by cops.

Killick, 56, was jailed following his sentencing on Monday.

The value of the work Killick did not do on his 37 victims is estimated to be around £1,270,000. They paid the company £1,473,191.

His trial was told Killick was only charged with 46 offenses of fraud by false representation between 2019 and 2021 after receiving more than 100 complaints, the equivalent of “lottery winnings”.

He spent his income on a lavish lifestyle, which included holidays and a £25,000 Rolex, which he claimed was an asset for the failing business.

A 14-week trial at Bristol Crown Court found him guilty of 37 offenses and he was remanded in custody before sentencing.

Judge Moira Macmillan said he caused “serious and sustained” harm to his victims and left their homes in a “truly shocking” state.

This was the moment cowboy builder Mark Killick was arrested by police at his home.

Killick will be made subject to a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) and a 15-year order disqualifying him from being a director of the company.

Among his victims was Stephen Gledhill, from Bristol, who told the BBC he paid the fraudster £18,000 for a new kitchen.

He said after the case: ‘I’m truly shocked that he could put up with something like this, lying to so many people more than once.’

Speaking after the case, police described Killick’s crime as ‘an eye-watering level of fraud’.

The trial heard how the fraudulent builder demanded large sums of money upfront so he could pay for orders or materials.

He then insisted to customers that they needed to pay their bills ‘urgently’ – but the court was told he was running a ‘ponzi scheme’ and effectively used the money to fund his work from customers who had paid him months earlier for work he had not completed.

It was also accused of not paying suppliers and contractors, further increasing the company’s liabilities.

Killick’s company, TD Cole Ltd, began working for some clients who had spent tens of thousands of pounds but had seen no progress for weeks or months.

The backyard of the abandoned house of one of Killick’s victims

Builder has been found guilty of dishonestly receiving payment for work that was never completed and left his victims’ homes in a ‘truly shocking’ state.

The prosecution said the victims’ bargaining position was weak because their homes had been turned into a construction site and they were waiting for Killick to respond to calls and messages explaining when work would restart.

When he asked for more money, they felt obliged to pay to avoid writing off their financial losses.

Other customers were paying Killick and TD Cole for work that had not even been started.

The jury found Killick guilty of 37 counts of fraud by false representation (33 by unanimous vote and four by majority verdict) and not guilty on one count. He was not convicted of the remaining eight crimes.

Detective Sergeant Louise Sinclair said after the case: ‘Mark Killick sold his clients a dream of residential redevelopment.

‘He left them with a nightmare and thousands of pounds out of pocket.

‘This was fraud at an eye-watering level.

‘The name change prevented clients who searched Killick’s credentials from seeing media reports of his previous fraud convictions.

The victims had a weak bargaining position because their homes had been turned into a construction site and they had to wait for Killick to respond to calls.

‘He is a serial cheater.’

Killick’s victims were also unaware of the financial problems facing TD Cole Ltd or his existing criminal record.

Between 2008 and 2014 Killick was twice investigated and prosecuted for fraud offenses relating to the failure to complete construction work after a deposit was requested.

He was convicted in 2008 under the name Killick and in 2014 under the name Mark Jenkins, his grandfather’s name.

Bankruptcy was also declared in the 2000s.

In January 2019, Killick changed his name to Marc Cole by deed poll and formed TD Cole Ltd the following month. He told the jury that the name change was for family reasons.

When questioned by police later, Killick said the business had started well, with customers sharing positive online reviews, but events beyond his control, including Covid-19, fuel strikes and an accident he was involved in, had greatly affected how quickly business could progress.

Killick, his birth name, was investigated by Trading Standards in 2020 following a number of complaints about the business.

Some of their clients pay upfront and see no progress for weeks or months

The investigation was then referred to Avon and Somerset Police, who worked with the Crown Prosecution Service to secure 46 charges.

Killick chose to liquidate TD Cole Ltd at the beginning of November 2021 after accumulating liabilities it could not meet, but was still taking customers’ money in the previous days.

He was arrested by detectives a few weeks later.

During interviews he told police he was setting up a new company called Cole Design, which would be a sole trader and that the business would finish off TD Cole Ltd’s unfinished business.

He said his arrest prevented that.

DS Sinclair added: ‘Many companies have taken a huge financial hit due to Covid-19 restrictions.

‘Lockdown and self-isolation has meant that it has been a truly difficult environment for businesses, and the struggles Killick faced have been repeated across the country.

‘If it were explained to clients that Covid-19 affects when work can start I have no doubt that most, if not all, would understand.

Victims were unaware of Killick’s past convictions and his company’s financial troubles

‘But that wasn’t what he chose to do because he wanted their money.

‘He repeatedly chose to lie to customers, pressuring them to hand over large amounts of cash to guarantee orders, even though he knew the money they gave would not be used for his business.

‘Killick was paying himself a commission for each job secured and so some of the cash he handed over, hoping to pay for clients’ construction projects and orders, instead went into his personal account and was used for hotel stays and gambling.

‘The precarious financial situation was such that Killick, unbeknownst to his victims, was using loan sharks for cash flow and continued to seek payment for several days before liquidating TD Cole Ltd.

‘Killick’s claim that he would complete the work through a new company does not stand up to scrutiny, given the lies he had already made up to clients and the fact that the money he was paid for these works had already been spent.

‘He didn’t have the money to do it.’