Mark Killick, a name now synonymous with deception in the West of England, has been found guilty of orchestrating one of the region’s most prolific building frauds in recent memory. Killick, who also operated under the aliases Marc Cole and Mark Jenkins, was convicted on 37 counts of fraud at Bristol Crown Court on October 10, 2025, after a lengthy three-month trial. The case, which finally came to light after a reporting restriction was lifted on October 23, exposed a scheme that left 37 victims more than £1.25 million out of pocket and dozens more nursing the wounds of unfinished dreams and shattered trust.
According to BBC, Killick’s operation spanned from June 2020 to November 2021, a period during which he failed to complete building work at properties across the West of England. The scale of the fraud was staggering: Avon and Somerset Police and Trading Standards received over 100 complaints about Killick’s practices between 2019 and 2021. Many customers were lured in by his company’s slick website—TD Cole Carpentry Bristol—which showcased glossy images of modern kitchens and promised professional craftsmanship. But for most, the reality was anything but.
Martyn Nicklin from Bristol Trading Standards described Killick as an “excellent salesperson” who wielded his “charm and charisma” to devastating effect. “I think he is still one of the most prolific rogue traders that we’ve ever dealt with, if not the most prolific,” Nicklin told BBC. “Certainly the scale, the number of victims, the financial impact; the harm that he’s caused is vast.”
Victims like Lindsay Roberts, Neil Hutchinson, and Frances Hatfield gave testimony that painted a picture of manipulation, pressure, and, ultimately, betrayal. Roberts paid £107,000 for a renovation that was never finished, after Killick, then using the name Marc Cole, convinced her to pay a £25,000 deposit upfront for work he claimed could start within weeks. “He was aggressive in pointing out my property needed more work,” Roberts told the court, explaining how her initial request for a bathroom renovation ballooned into a £100,000 quote for a full overhaul. Despite repeated promises, excuses abounded—staff off with Covid, supply chain issues, and, notably, Killick’s car crash on the M5 on May 17, 2021, which he used as a recurring explanation for delays.
Neil Hutchinson’s experience followed a similar pattern. He handed over £20,000 up front for a kitchen and flooring project, only to see no work materialize. Initially finding Killick “friendly and trustworthy,” Hutchinson was soon asked to invest further in TD Cole, with promises of a £26 million turnover within three years—a claim that, in hindsight, seems almost farcical. Hutchinson refused, and the project never began. Killick later claimed in court that he intended to start work and that delays were at the customer’s request, an assertion flatly contradicted by Hutchinson’s testimony.
Frances Hatfield, meanwhile, paid about £56,000 in advance for a kitchen extension. She told the court she felt rushed and pressured into making payments, and in the end, all she received was the demolition of an outbuilding and some foundation work. When she contacted supposed suppliers for her kitchen materials, they had no record of any order being placed. Killick insisted he would have finished the job if he had not been remanded in custody.
The prosecution, as reported by BBC, highlighted Killick’s lavish spending habits. Shortly after receiving a £50,000 Covid bounce-back loan in August 2020, he purchased a £25,000 Rolex Submariner watch, which he claimed was a business asset. He also splurged on luxury resort stays, presenting them as business trips. In a video shown in court, a co-director confronted Killick about taking large deposits while the company was in obvious financial trouble. Killick’s response was blunt: “We’ve lost everything. We’ve lost every penny, and that’s it. It’s all gone.”
Despite his claims in court that he intended to run an honest business—citing pandemic-related worker shortages and even England’s success in the Euros football championship as factors beyond his control—the evidence suggested otherwise. Det Sgt Louise Sinclair of Avon and Somerset Police, who played a key role in bringing Killick to justice, was unequivocal: “He was starting work but never had any intention of finishing it because he was spending too much of the money on lifestyle. Then he was taking on new contracts and using that money to pay for the previous victims’ work.”
The emotional toll on Killick’s victims was immense. Sinclair recounted stories of “sleepless nights” and “problems with eating” among those defrauded. “It’s just caused so much stress in their lives that they’ve had to have time off work,” she said. “It’s caused arguments within the family, it’s caused money worries. They shouldn’t have to be put through that.”
Killick’s criminal history stretches back decades. Originally from Neath, south Wales, he was handed a 12-year Bankruptcy Restriction Order in 2006, barring him from obtaining more than £500 in credit without disclosure. He pleaded guilty to fraud in 2008, 2009, and 2014—the last of which involved 42 victims and £573,000 in losses. Over the years, he has served six custodial sentences, including three for unspecified crimes in the 1990s, according to the Ministry of Justice. The frequency with which Killick changed his name and trading identity made it difficult for customers to verify his background, a tactic that allowed him to keep finding new victims even as complaints mounted.
During 2020 and 2021, Killick took on at least two new customers per week, some just weeks before his company TD Cole was placed into liquidation in November 2021. Many victims tried to check his credentials but were stymied by his ever-changing aliases and business names. The professional veneer of the TD Cole website only added to the illusion of legitimacy.
As the dust settles on the trial, Killick awaits sentencing in December 2025. The judge has already indicated that a “lengthy custodial sentence is inevitable.” For those left in the wake of his deceit, the hope is that justice, at long last, will bring some measure of closure—and perhaps serve as a warning to others about the dangers of charm unchecked by integrity.
