Cosmetic surgery co-founder banned

The co-founder of the largest cosmetic surgery group in the Republic, Mr Jeffrey Burton, has been disqualified from acting as a company director for the next five years.

Mr Burton entered a guilty plea yesterday in a case taken by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, Mr Paul Appleby.

Mr Burton pleaded guilty to charges of acting as a company director while being an undischarged bankrupt.

The Dublin District Court fined him €800 in relation to one company directorship and €200 each in relation to another two. The companies involved were Advanced Cosmetic Surgery, Biotec Direct and Ruthar.

In March Mr Burton resigned as a director of the Advanced Cosmetics Institute after being charged in the District Court. He is believed to live in the UK. Companies Office filings here show him having an address at the Malahide Marina, Malahide, Co Dublin.

In July 1995 a judge in a court in Manchester disqualified Mr Burton from acting as a UK director for eight years.

The judge said Mr Burton had "shown a cynical and reckless disregard" for his creditors' interests.

Advanced Cosmetics has five Irish clinics. Its clinics in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast have carried out more than 7,000 surgical procedures since they were established in 1997.