EXCLUSIVE Furious builder who helped restore Australian fashion designer Donna Ida Thornton's rural Devonshire mansion claims the 'jean queen' turned lady of the manor still owes his construction firm £273,000
She has boasted that living in her lusciously renovated country manor 'in the English countryside is a dream come true for me'.
But life hasn't been so sweet for a builder who helped restore Australian fashion designer Donna Ida Thornton's rural bolthole.
Ms Thornton's designs are a favourite of the Princess of Wales as well as celebrities such as Amanda Holden, and she has told how her denim empire enabled her to become lady of the manor.
But more than a year after a court ordered Ms Thornton's company to pay Keith Elliott £273,000 over his construction firm's unpaid invoices for its work to help create a boutique hotel and living space for the designer, the father of two says he is yet to receive a penny.
And just a month after the April 2024 court judgment, Langdon Court Manor Ltd was liquidated with debts of around £3 million – meaning Mr Elliott is unlikely ever to receive anything.
Documents lodged with Companies House show the bulk of the money owed by the company is to millionaire Ms Thornton, still listed as a director of the business, or her restaurateur husband Robert Walton – who resigned as a director 15 months ago – or other companies they control.
Since the Daily Mail first revealed the dispute between the builder and designer in March 2024, Ms Thornton and her husband have featured in a glossy photoshoot at the Grade II-listed Jacobean mansion. The 16-bed property Langdon Court was not among the company's assets and is still owned by the couple.
The Hello! piece, published last June, appeared weeks after the designer filed an 'extraordinary resolution' to wind up the business. In the gushing article, which tells how the couple's dogs have their own apartment, dubbed the 'chihuahua stables', Ms Thornton said: 'Living in the English countryside is a dream come true for me. It's beautiful; I love it here.'
The Hello! shoot saw Ms Thornton, 51, and her 69-year-old husband – president of the Restaurant Association – posing in one of Langdon Court's newly-renovated rooms in front of a wall featuring a print that reads 'I'm not sorry'.
But Mr Elliott, 43, and other contractors left out of pocket don't see the funny side. He said: 'That picture is just two fingers up to me and everybody who hasn't been paid. It's typical of Donna's behaviour, very arrogant and completely uncaring about anyone else. She's gloating that she's essentially got away without paying.
'It says everything about this case that the room they're posing in was one we completed for her, that she didn't pay for and the court awarded us the full contract value. When you see them living the high life with the items you bought them, it does make me angry and frustrated.'
Mr Elliott, of Hunsdon, Devon, said there were no pictures on the wall when he finished working at the property in December 2022.
Since the Daily Mail first revealed the dispute between the builder and designer in March 2024, Ms Thornton, 51, and Mr Walton, 69 (both pictured) featured in a glossy photoshoot at the Grade II-listed Jacobean mansion last June
The Hello! shoot saw Ms Thornton, 51, and her 69-year-old husband – president of the Restaurant Association – posing in one of Langdon Court's newly-renovated rooms in front of a wall featuring a print that reads 'I'm not sorry' (Pictured: Ms Thornton in 2017)
He said his battle with the couple has cost him £600,000 including the unpaid judgment, legal fees and the dozens of hours he and colleagues have spent fighting the case.
He acknowledges the chances of him ever seeing the cash are 'slim' but he remains determined to pursue the debt. The builder, who employs seven staff and up to 70 sub-contractors, said he was no longer able to build his own family home as planned.
Ms Thornton filed to liquidate Langdon Court Manor Ltd last May. It is the third company of Ms Thornton's to be dissolved – two previous ones collapsed allegedly owing hundreds of thousands to creditors. Mr Walton has also had two hospitality firms fall into liquidation. The couple bought the property, a hotel that had fallen into administration alongside two cottages, in 2021 for £1,050,000, and renovations began the following year.
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