PAULTON, Somerset — Mark Killick, 56, known to customers as Marc Cole, has been jailed for 14 years after defrauding dozens of clients out of over £1.25 million to fund luxury holidays and gambling.
Killick, described by police as Britain’s worst rogue builder, took payments for work that was never completed, leaving homes in a “truly shocking” state. The 37 victims collectively paid £1,473,191, while the value of work actually done was just £1,270,000.
After receiving more than 100 complaints, Killick was charged with 46 offences of fraud by false representation between 2019 and 2021. A 14-week trial at Bristol Crown Court found him guilty on 37 counts. He was acquitted on one count, with eight counts left unconvicted.
Killick spent the stolen funds on a luxury lifestyle, including holidays and a £25,000 Rolex, which he claimed as a business asset. Judge Moira Macmillan described his actions as causing “serious and ongoing harm” to victims and imposed a Serious Crime Prevention Order and a 15-year ban from being a company director.
The fraud involved Killick requesting large upfront payments, pressuring clients to pay “urgently,” while using new customer funds to cover previous jobs—a Ponzi-style scheme. Some customers paid for work that was never even started, while others were left with homes turned into unfinished construction sites.
Detective Sergeant Louise Sinclair called the case “fraud on an eye-watering scale,” noting Killick’s repeated name changes—from Mark Killick to Mark Jenkins and finally Marc Cole—to hide his prior convictions and bankruptcies from customers.
TD Cole Ltd, the company Killick created in 2019, was liquidated in November 2021 amid mounting liabilities, but Killick continued to collect payments from unsuspecting clients. He told police he planned to complete unfinished jobs through a new business, Cole Design, but investigators said this claim was not credible.
Killick’s prior record includes fraud convictions in 2008 and 2014 and a bankruptcy in the 2000s. Police and Trading Standards investigations, combined with complaints from victims, led to his eventual arrest and prosecution.
DS Sinclair added that while Covid-19 restrictions affected many businesses, Killick deliberately misled clients to access funds for personal use, repeatedly pressuring them to hand over money while knowing it would not be used for their work.
