Sarah Ferguson App Fails After £1m Aid

A lifestyle app backed by Sarah Ferguson shut down after receiving over £1 million in taxpayer-funded R&D credits-without ever launching a product.

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Dec 6, 2025 - 12:34

Sarah Ferguson App Fails After £1m Aid

According to documents filed this week, a lifestyle app backed by Sarah Ferguson received more than £1 million in taxpayers' money but shut down without launching a product.

vVoosh was founded by Manuel Fernandez, a close friend of Ms. Ferguson's, who once described himself as an "ambassador" for the company and was also an investor.

It promised to give users the power to "discover, plan, share, live, and remember all the things you love to do—and the ones you haven't tried yet."

Ms. Ferguson and Mr. Fernandez did not respond to requests for comment.

vVoosh was placed into administration last month—and its failure will raise further questions about the former Duchess's decisions and her business relationships.

Last month, it emerged that a cryptocurrency mining firm had agreed to pay him up to £1.4 million to serve as a "brand ambassador." That firm also collapsed, reportedly causing investors to lose millions. Its co-founder denied wrongdoing and said he was working to repay investors.

In September, several charities removed him as patron or ambassador after a 2011 email emerged in which he referred to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as his "best friend" and appeared to apologize for publicly criticizing him.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Manuel Fernandez, 57, attended school in Billericay, Essex, and was a soldier in the Royal Anglian Regiment.

He then held senior sales positions at several tech companies before founding vVoosh in 2010.

He was regularly photographed with the then-Duchess in 2015 and 2016, and they attended Sir Bob Geldof's wedding together, but he denied rumors that they were a couple, saying they were just "good friends."

According to documents filed by the administrator, vVoosh raised approximately £9 million over the years, including more than £1 million from the UK government through research and development tax credits.

It paid teams in the UK and then India to work on the app, but never launched it, and therefore had no income for further development.

Work on the app halted when the Indian contractor threatened legal action. The administrator's report cited a "lack of communication between the current directors/major creditors and the founder [Mr. Fernandez]," who ceased communication after resigning as a director earlier this year.

The report states that the company owes £324,609 to a former director. This is believed to be Mr. Fernandez, who is the only director to have left the company since 2019.

According to Land Registry documents, he sold his North London home for £1.3 million last summer and is believed to have left the UK.

Meanwhile, vVoosh owes £50,000 to La Luna Investments, a company owned by Ms. Ferguson, which also held slightly less than 1% of the company's shares.

Ms. Ferguson, 66, lost her title as Duchess when her ex-husband, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, relinquished his title as Duke of York due to his ties to Epstein. He has since been stripped of his title as Prince.

Documents show that the firm had more than 60 small shareholders—many with addresses in Essex and London, although some appear to have American addresses.

Administrators said there is "considerable uncertainty" about how much money the company's creditors will receive back after the closure.

One of the firm's American backers, Mark Guzzi, has invested more than £400,000 in the company to maintain "certain essential services" and preserve the value of its software platform, the company's main remaining asset.

vVoosh initially intended to share 10% of its profits with a charitable foundation.Charity Commission has now begun the process of removing the vVoosh Charitable Foundation from the register of charities, on the grounds that it is not operating.

Its reporting is more than four and a half years late. Its last accounts, for 2019, show that it had a total income of £1.28 million, but spent just £18,240 on charitable activities.

HMRC declined to answer questions about tax credits. Mr. Guzzi and other vVoosh directors declined to comment.

According to the Times, earlier this month Mr. Fernandez denied withdrawing money from the firm. He told the newspaper that this allegation "will be proven false during the legal proceedings."