Company director who avoided court by claiming to be in a coma is jailed for hiding behind others to run football magazine business while banned

Peter Etherington, 68, was sentenced to 18.5 months in prison at Bradford Crown Court after admitting to acting as a director of PP Global Media Limited while disqualified. The company published Professional Player, a magazine aimed at professional footballers and their families. Etherington had been banned from directorships multiple times, including a three-year ban between April 2019 and October 2022, which he violated by continuing to control the business behind the scenes.

Etherington attempted to evade court proceedings in January by claiming to be in an induced coma, but the Insolvency Service verified that he had not been a hospital inpatient. Investigations revealed he had updated his Facebook profile and signed legal documents during the same period. He pleaded guilty in March and was jailed for breaching a suspended sentence and acting as a director while disqualified, with an additional 10-year disqualification imposed.

The Insolvency Service found that Etherington exercised real control over PP Global Media Limited despite appointing others as named directors. Evidence showed he orchestrated financial decisions, including securing a Bounce Back Loan in 2020, and received over £100,000 from company accounts between December 2018 and January 2023. Former directors and business contacts confirmed he directed staffing, managed finances, and approved expenditures without their knowledge.

Etherington was first disqualified in 2017 for misconduct at Etherington Media Ltd, including transferring intellectual property rights for £1. He was disqualified again in 2020 for ignoring his ban while owing £55,000 in VAT, and in 2022 for acting as a director while disqualified. The Insolvency Service stated that such disqualifications protect the public and that persistent offenders who ignore bans will face the strongest possible sanctions.