Legendary horse owner worth £50million who starred on Channel 4 show declared bankrupt
A LEGENDARY racehorse owner believed to have been worth £50million has been declared bankrupt.
Marwan Koukash was a regular at Chester races and always targeted his horses at the most lucrative contests.
Flamboyant and popular with punters, he was a star on the Roodee – but is conspicuous by his absence during this week’s May Festival.
The reason is Koukash, 69, has officially been declared bankrupt and removed as a registered owner.
In 2018, the Palestine-born businessman starred on Channel 4 show My Millionaire Migrant Boss – a show described as ‘The Apprentice for jobseekers’.
The show – which saw Koukash take the place of Lord Sugar as hugely successful entrepreneur – stated his net worth was a whopping £50m.
He was also a director at rugby league team Salford City Reds at the time and owned a string of hotels.
But just four years later, Koukash, who has a PHD in electrical engineering, filed for bankruptcy.
He was granted a bankruptcy order petitioned by his wife Amanda in September last year, a month after he originally filed, report the Racing Post.
Koukash’s final run came last November and the BHA no longer list him as an owner.
Insolvency company Moore Recovery are now in charge of the process and a spokesperson said: “I am able to confirm that the date that the Bankruptcy Petition was presented was June 14, 2022.
“The Bankruptcy Order was granted on September 13, 2022. Mustafa Abdulali and Neil Dingley of Moore Recovery were appointed as joint trustees with effect from October 21, 2022.”
In the past five years alone Koukash made more than £1m in earnings on the racecourse.
Throughout his years as an owner he plundered more than £2m in prize money at Chester.
He also made more than half a million at Ascot, Goodwood, York and Wolverhampton.
His big wins included pocketing £100,000 for winning the Cesarewitch with Brae Hill in October 2011.
The previous month he landed the Ayr Gold Cup with Our Jonathan, bringing home another £75,000.
That same horse earned Koukash more than £100,000 with victory in the Group 2 Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte under Jamie Spencer in November 2009.
His last really big winner came courtesy of the Ian Williams-trained Magic Circle, who won £40,000 when landing a Group 3 at Sandown in May 2018.