Boss of holiday crash firm bought £875,000 home for daughters

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Phil Wyatt paid cash for the detached property in West Sussex for Lauren, 19, and Emma, 17, in May when XL was in huge financial trouble.

It sits in the grounds of the £2 million main family home which boasts a pool, three garages to house his fleet of cars and acres of well-tended lawns. Today the 45-year-old defended his purchase, which came four months before XL crashed, leaving 1,700 staff redundant.

"I bought the house for my daughters," he said. "There is no mortgage but it's family money. I wouldn't risk that on business. XL was never going to have an effect on my home because I had no personal guarantees."

He said he was devastated that his staff had lost their jobs and said that "he loved them all to bits".

"I've never courted publicity," he said. "I had the balls to stand up there in front of everyone and take responsibility. Even my daughter was made redundant. I'm gutted for my staff and my customers. What more does anyone want from me? I've done my bit."

Mr Wyatt was deputy chairman of XL when he bought the house but became chief executive in June when Peter Owen, 61, was forced to step down after being made bankrupt.

By then bosses were desperately trying to get the company re-financed after it lost £24 million last year. It had been under the scrutiny of financial analysis group Company Watch for two years.

Mr Wyatt said he had planned to leave the firm when that process was complete but XL was £143 million in the red. It went bust this month leaving more than 85,000 holidaymakers stranded abroad.