West country builder accused of fraud spent £28,000 on Rolex

A builder accused of fraud amounting to more than £2m spent £28,650 on a Rolex watch while being chased for payment by suppliers, a court has heard.

Mark Killick, 56, is charged with 46 counts of fraud across the West country between December 2019 and November 2021 – all of which he denies – relating to unfinished renovations.

Mr Killick – who is also known as Marc Cole – bought several luxury watches and stayed multiple times at the luxury Celtic Manor resort in Newport, Wales, jurors at Bristol Crown Court were told.

The builder, of Paulton in Somerset, had told police he had always intended to complete the work, and that he had bought the watches so they could be pawned to help cashflow.

A number of different luxury watches were repeatedly pawned and redeemed over the course of 2020 and 2021 by Mr Killick, the court heard.

He told police that some of his trips to the Celtic Manor with his wife were personal but that others were business trips, paid for by his company.

The jury was also told about his previous record in court – namely, a bankruptcy order made against him in 2006, and three instances in which he had pleaded guilty to fraud offences.

Jurors were also told he had been in prison before.

Over Monday afternoon, the court heard from a number of trade suppliers who said Mr Killick owed them money.

One timber merchant said he was owed £11,000 by the time Mr Killick’s account was closed in 2021, while a kitchen supplier said the builder owed them £2,000.

A worktop supplier said he was owed in excess of another £2,000.

The trial continues.