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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Tom Duffy

Controversial match day parking firm sent money to Salford

A match day parking company set up to benefit the north Liverpool community granted loans to Salford based companies.

The Beautiful Ideas Company (BICo) was set up to raise money from match day parking facilities near Anfield and Goodison. The money was then to be invested in local good causes.

Earlier this month city mayor Joanne Anderson lodged a number of issues with (BICo) following the publication of three internal audit reports. The city's standards and ethics committee is set consider the issues at a public meeting on Wednesday.

READ MORE: Controversial match day cash company set to be dissolved

The ECHO can now reveal that BICo granted loans to a number of organisations based in Salford. A presentation by BICo to Liverpool Council in 2018 stated that they made an award of £20,000 to one Salford based organisation, which was not named.

The presentation document was shared online by Liverpool Council. A second BICo document, also shared by the council, has stated the community interest company granted loans to two Salford based organisations. Both documents formed part of an employment and skills select committee hearing on April 4 2018.

The Salford based companies were named as: Islington Mill Arts club and and Mother May 1 Ltd. The document reveals that BICo granted loans worth a total of £483,000 to 47 organisations.

Islington Mill in Salford (Manchester Evening News)

A spokesman for Mother May 1 Ltd told the ECHO that the loan was in the region of £5,000. They were not able to say if the loan had been repaid. Mother May 1 Ltd, a catering business, was dissolved on September 26 2017.

The ECHO has approached Islington Mill Arts Club for comment. An audit report from 2017 recently published by Liverpool Council stated that BICo was set up to benefit the local area.

The report read: "The audit visit was carried out in accordance with the licence agreement, specifically term 4: “the licensee shall keep proper accounts and records of its revenue and expenditure in relation to the operation of the site, and maintain an open book approach to running the site, providing to the Council full details of the income generated and information related to how the funds are being re-invested into pre-agreed activities for the benefit of the local community”.

The ECHO has approached BICo for comment on this story.

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