Brent Walker was a UK company which owns various businesses including property

Property

Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...

, gambling

Gambling

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...

 and pubs. It was founded by George Walker

George Alfred Walker

George Alfred Walker was a British businessman. He was the founder of Brent WalkerWalker was born in Stepney, London the son of a brewery worker. He attended the Jubilee School in Bedford, Essex, leaving at 14 to work in an aircraft factory. He later worked as a salesman in Billingsgate Fish...

, the brother of the boxer, Billy Walker

Billy Walker (boxer)

Billy Walker is a retired English Heavyweight boxer and actor. He was born in London in 1939 and turned professional in 1961 after 39 amateur bouts. His nickname was “Golden Boy”. His professional record was 21 wins , 8 losses and 2 draws...

.

George Walker

Born in London, George Walker career began as a porter at Billingsgate Fish Market

Billingsgate Fish Market

Situated in East London, Billingsgate Fish Market is the United Kingdom's largest inland fish market. It takes its name from Billingsgate, a ward in the south-east of the City of London, where the riverside market was originally established...

. Like his brother, Walker became a boxer of the 1950s.

Foundations

During his career, Walker bought Dolly's nightclub in London. In 1969 he bought a greyhound racing

Greyhound racing

Greyhound racing is the sport of racing greyhounds. The dogs chase a lure on a track until they arrive at the finish line. The one that arrives first is the winner....

 track, which formed the core of Brent Walker.

Operations

Walker bought a derelict piece of land, which he developed into Brent Cross

Brent Cross

Brent Cross is an area of north London, in the London Borough of Barnet. It is located near the A41 Brent Cross Flyover over the A406 North Circular Road. Brent Cross is best known for its shopping centre and the proposed Brent Cross Cricklewood development....

 shopping centre, the core of Brent Walkers operation. The business expanded to include the William Hill

William Hill

-People:*William Hill *William Hill , British colonial Proprietary Governor of the Province of Avalon, Newfoundland*William Hill...

 betting shop chain, tenanted pub company Pubmaster, film opticals company Camera Effects

Camera Effects

Camera Effects was a post-production and visual effects company based in Soho, London from 1964 till its closure in 1987. It had a world wide reputation for producing film special effects and titles for television commercial and feature film projects....

 and property that included the London Trocadero.

Collapse

A collapse in property prices and high interest rates in the late 1980s led the Brent Walker empire to collapse in 1991, with debts of £1.2bn.

Serious fraud trial

In 1994, the Serious Fraud Office

Serious Fraud Office

The Serious Fraud Office may refer to:*Serious Fraud Office *Serious Fraud Office...

brought a case against George Walker and Brent Walker's former finance director Wilfred Aquilina, accusing them of inflating profits at the film division by £19.3m in an effort to lure investors. After a four and a half month trial costing an estimated £40m, Walker was cleared of all charges, while Aquilina was convicted of false accounting, sentenced to 18 months imprisonment suspended for two years, and fined £25,000.