In the leafy, affluent streets of Surrey, a £5 million mansion stands as a silent witness to one of Britain’s most dramatic corporate collapses in recent memory. Its owner, Winston Sanjeev Soosaipillai, has become the focus of government scrutiny, legal action, and the ire of hundreds of workers left reeling after the collapse of the Prax Group’s Lindsey oil refinery. The story is as much about the fate of a historic British industry as it is about the high-flying lifestyle of its fugitive boss, now believed to have fled the country amid a mountain of debt and unanswered questions.
According to The Telegraph, land registry documents confirm that Soosaipillai remains the owner of the lavish five-bedroom property in Weybridge, Surrey. The mansion, acquired for £4.5 million in 2014, boasts six bathrooms, a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, and sprawling gardens with direct access to a golf course. The property was even advertised for rent on Rightmove just three months before Prax’s financial implosion, described as a “refurbished five-bedroom family home.”
The timing of this revelation could hardly be more galling for the hundreds of workers and contractors left in limbo. Prax Group, under the stewardship of Soosaipillai and his wife Arani, went into administration in June 2025 following the collapse of the Lindsey oil refinery in North Killingholme, Lincolnshire—one of Britain’s last five major oil refineries. The fallout has been severe: about 420 jobs are directly at risk, with thousands more contractors affected. As The Times reported, “hundreds of job losses” have already occurred, and many employees are still owed wages and benefits.
At the heart of Prax’s demise was the discovery of “material irregularities” in a staggering £783 million loan facility with HSBC. A report filed with Companies House pointed to these irregularities as the catalyst for the board’s decision to cancel the bank loan, which “crystallised a cash crunch that prompted the company’s downfall in June.” The government’s insolvency arm was forced to step in and take over operations, but the loan facility has since been shut, leaving creditors scrambling for answers and restitution.
Administrators from Teneo disclosed that Soosaipillai had left behind debts and inter-company loans exceeding £1.5 billion. The scale of the financial wreckage is breathtaking: employees are owed more than £4 million, HMRC is due at least £70 million (with the overall tax bill possibly reaching £250 million), and major creditors like Shell are owed £9.2 million. Uber and Rentokil are also among those left out of pocket. The web of financial obligations stretches across multiple companies in Soosaipillai’s business empire, including petrol stations and other oil and gas operations.
Compounding the sense of outrage, it emerged that Winston and Arani Soosaipillai—sole owners of Prax—paid themselves a dividend of £3.65 million in 2024, just a year before the company’s collapse. This payout came despite Prax posting losses of nearly $30 million, a detail that has not escaped the attention of former employees and government officials alike.
Legal proceedings are now underway. A High Court lawsuit has been filed against Soosaipillai, alleging “misrepresentation” and “deceit,” as well as breach of contract and questionable management of the loan facility. Five of Soosaipillai’s own companies, all part of the broader Prax Group, have launched a case accusing him of breaching his duties as a director—specifically, the duty to promote the success of the companies and to exercise reasonable skill, care, and diligence. Court documents obtained by The Telegraph detail these allegations, painting a picture of a business leader who left his companies and their employees in a “poor state.”
The government’s response has been swift and pointed. Michael Shanks, the energy minister, called for “an immediate investigation into the conduct of the directors” and publicly urged Soosaipillai “to do the right thing and support the workers through this difficult period.” The government’s insolvency team continues to oversee the winding down of the refinery’s operations, but uncertainty remains over the ultimate fate of the Surrey mansion and whether it can be reclaimed to help pay back creditors.
The whereabouts of Winston and Arani Soosaipillai are currently unknown. Reports from July 2025, cited by The Telegraph and The Times, suggest that the couple may have fled the country earlier in the summer, but authorities have not confirmed their location. Their silence has only fueled accusations from former Lindsey workers, who say the couple “abandoned both the business and its staff.”
Administrators have acknowledged that there are “a number of outstanding matters that may significantly impact the final outcome for creditors.” The complexity of Soosaipillai’s business dealings, including hundreds of millions owed to other energy companies within his empire, means that the process of sorting through the financial wreckage could drag on for months, if not years. For now, the administrators have declined to comment further.
The collapse of the Lindsey oil refinery marks a significant moment in the decline of Britain’s once-mighty refining industry. With only a handful of major refineries left, the loss of Lindsey not only represents a blow to local employment and the regional economy but also raises broader questions about the future of domestic energy production in the UK. For the workers and communities affected, the sense of betrayal is palpable.
As the investigation continues and legal proceedings unfold, attention will remain fixed on the fate of the Surrey mansion and the prospects for recouping at least some of the billions lost in the collapse. Whether Winston Soosaipillai will ever be held to account—or whether his story will become another cautionary tale of corporate excess and regulatory failure—remains to be seen. For now, the grand façade in Weybridge serves as a stark reminder of the human and financial cost left in the wake of Prax Group’s downfall.