The owner of an ice cream shop has been hit with a ban of ten years after 'falsely' claiming for a £50,000 government loan during the Covid pandemic. Belinda Bakerman, who owned a Southport ice cream parlour is banned from running any company for a decade.
An investigation found the owner submitted false information to claim the maximum amount available from the government's Bounce Back Loan (BBL) scheme. Her business was only eligible for a small portion of the loan, reports LancsLive.
The money claimed for Bella's Ice Cream was then shifted in to a company owned by a relative, with almost none of the £50K repaid by the time the business went in to a state of liquidation.
The BBL scheme was aimed at small and medium-sized businesses during the pandemic to help mitigate against the loss of trade. Bakerman's business was said to have suffered a 'complete loss of trade during lockdown' and 'suffered' following the relaxation of Covid rules.
The cash injection was on the condition that the money was used only for the benefit of businesses. A maximum amount available of 25% of annual turnover was set up for companies created before 2019.
In the application, it was alleged Bakerman falsely claimed her company was set up in March 2019 and said turnover would be £200,000 when applying a year later. This enabled her to the maximum amount of £50,000 to be loaned to her business.
The Insolvency Service, however, found that the business had been incorporated in late 2018 and the accounts showed a turnover of £52,000 between March 2019 and March 2020, when the pandemic took full effect. Bank analysis showed receipts of just £31,000 in that period.
The application made by Bakerman claimed the turnover was a projection-based figure on the basis plans were in place to turn the shop in to a café style business despite said projections not be allowed in the process. In a letter from the Insolvency Practitioner dated February 17, 2023, it states that "the director has accepted that the turnover was overstated in the BBL application."
The loan was paid in to the company's account on May 19, 2020. Over a two week period, it was found that £32,000 was paid in to an account held by an associated limited company. At the stage of liquidation, £49,000 of the £50,000 loan remained outstanding.
According to the Insolvency Service, "no evidence has been provided to show this was for the economic benefit of BIC [Bella's Ice Cream], as required."
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