THE Princess of Wales’s parents have reportedly left the taxpayer footing the bill for a Covid loan they took out in a failed attempt to save their collapsing business.
Kate Middleton’s mother and father Carole and Michael took out a Government-backed loan from NatWest to support their children’s party firm which took a financial hit during lockdown, The Times reported.
Party Pieces, which they established in 1987, has now entered an insolvency process, the paper said – with the bank said to be owed £220,000.
Through the Government’s Covid loan scheme, the taxpayer is liable to pay 80% of money owed to the bank.
The Times reported the Middletons’ firm was sold to the entrepreneur James Sinclair for just £180,000.
Its revenues were said to have fallen from £4.5 million to £3.2m in 2022 – leading to a pre-tax net loss of £900,000.
In a report to creditors, seen by the paper, administrators said: “Management attributed this to the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in reduced social gatherings and a reduction in discretionary spend due to the cost-of-living crisis. This caused constraints on the company’s cash flows.
“The company was both loss-making and under creditor pressure. In the absence of new funding or a solvent sale, the company was insolvent on a balance sheet and cash flow basis. The existing investors of the company had injected ad hoc funds to meet critical payments and no further funds were available from this source.”
The Times reported it understood Carole Middleton stepped back from the day-to-day running of Party Pieces in 2019. She became a brand ambassador for the business and a new management team was put in place. She remained a director and returned to help run the company’s operations this year to help secure its future.
The Government’s Covid business loan scheme has been the source of significant controversy – with taxpayers forced to shell out £4 billion to banks to cover losses caused by business failures and fraud connected with the scheme.
The Middletons declined to comment when approached by The Times.
