Latest news with #taxpayerscash
Telegraph
23-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Dragons' Den entrepreneur used Covid business loans to buy £1.8m mansion
A business owner who secured investment on BBC's Dragons' Den illegally pocketed two Covid-19 business loans to buy a £1.8m mansion. Rick Beardsell, 46, who is also a world sprinting champion, fraudulently used £100,000 of taxpayers' cash to finance the purchase of a five-bedroom property in Prestbury, Cheshire. Beardsell, who secured a £75,000 investment from Dragons Tej Lalvani and Deborah Meaden for his protein shake bottle business ShakeSphere in 2017, had applied for the loans for his other business, Sports Creative, which sold sportswear, but put none of the money towards it. Under the loan rules, Beardsell was only entitled to one Bounce Back loan of a maximum £50,000. However, he fraudulently applied for two and inflated his annual turnover by up to 23 times. At Chester Crown Court, Beardsell - who won seven gold medals for GB in World Masters Athletics Championships - was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, for two charges of fraud. Beardsell had appeared on Dragons' Den to get investment for his shaker bottle manufacture firm ShakeSphere. He claimed the support of Meaden and Lalvani subsequently helped him get sales of over 1 million shakers worldwide. Geoff Whealan, prosecuting, said Beardsell made fraudulent applications for Bounce Back Loans to HSBC in December 2020 and then to the NatWest in January 2021 for Sports Creative. He said: ''The defendant stated on the HSBC form that the turnover of Sports Creative was £485,000 and on the NatWest form said it was £320,000 - but unaudited financial statements showed turnover for the year end February 2020 was £20,622. The court heard the HSBC and NatWest money landed in Sports Creative's account in January 2021 but was then transferred to other bank accounts, including Beardsell's personal account. In September 2021, a sum of £431,160.80, which included the remaining bounce back loan funds, was transferred to a firm of solicitors for the purchase of a house. Mr Whelan said he had 'in effect' used the loan for the house purchase and added it was Beardsell's 'intention to use the bounce back loans for this purpose at the time he made the application for it'. Beardsell claimed he was advised the loan could be used for 'the coverage of overhead expenses or outstanding liabilities, as well as the investment in company assets or property' and that the funds transferred to his personal account 'constituted a director's loan'. His counsel Nichola Cafferkey said that a year prior to his loan application, Beardsell was diagnosed with an aggressive form of testicular cancer and that the offences were 'out of character'. She added: 'He has taken responsibility and repaid the money back. He knows that it's his own fault. He has brought shame on his family and brought shame on himself. Beardsell was also ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and paid prosecution costs of £11,142.70. SportsCreative was wound up in 2022 but ShakeSphere which he runs with his wife is still operating successfully. Sentencing Judge Simon Berkson told him: ''You fraudulently lied and lied again in your applications for these loans. He said it was not a 'victimless crime', adding: 'People were in lock down, people were dying and people were very ill at the time when people required their public services. You used fraudulently obtained public funds for your own use, depriving honest people of the scheme's funds when the country was in crisis.'
The Sun
19-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Fat cat water regulator bosses get millions of pounds in salaries while failing to get a grip on the sewage crisis
GREEDY water regulator bosses paid themselves millions in salaries while failing to get a grip on the sewage crisis. Ofwat's senior management team netted more than £2 million in pay last year. 2 Chief exec David Black received a total remuneration package of £250,000 to £255,000 including pension. The failing regulator also handed out over £6 million to external consultants in two years, according to official contracts. It comes as Ofwat is set to be abolished under reforms announced on Monday. The useless watchdog has been blasted for failing to stop water companies spewing sewage into waterways while lining the pockets of their shareholders. Now it can be revealed the regulator has been spaffing taxpayer cash on companies for communication advice and training staff for grillings by MPs. A £15,000 contract was given to Moxy Communications for advice including 'training for Select Committees'. This is despite Ofwat having around 16 people on their comms team with salaries for their senior director advertised at around £105,000. Recently, advisors Strand Partners won a £100,000 seven-month contract to 'reduce the pressure on Ofwat and free up resource'. 2 A separate £30,000 contract was spent on an online tool to schedule content to go live on Ofwat social media channels. And another £80,000 went on a 'social listening tool' to 'gain valuable insights' from social and digital media. Senior Lib Dem MP Tim Farron said: 'It is shocking that Ofwat bosses have the audacity to award themselves millions for failure, and this unnecessary spending is an insult to every single bill payer who sees their charges rocket, while the state of our waterways plummets. 'This isn't just incompetence; it's a betrayal of public trust and we need a radical overhaul. 'It's time to pull the plug on Ofwat. We need a powerful, new regulator that can finally force these companies to clean up their act and stop the sewage scandal for good.' Tory shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said: 'As families watch bills rise by the month, Ofwat bosses are busy signing off million-pound consultancy contracts and paying themselves bumper salaries. "Spending £80,000 to listen to tweets and £15,000 on Select Committee coaching is a slap in the face to every household footing the bill.' For the first time the Government will promise to cut sewage pollution with a clear deadline. Environment Secretary Steve Reed has announced that pollution from water companies will be cut in half by the end of the decade. And a record £104 billion is being invested to upgrade crumbling pipes and build new sewage treatment works. He said: 'One of the largest infrastructure projects in England's history will clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.' He is expected to announce a consultation on creating a new regulator to coincide with the results of a major review into the water industry directed by former Bank of England deputy governor Sir Jon Cunliffe. An Ofwat spokesperson said Mr Black's salary takes account of the 'scale, complexity and challenges of the role'. They added: 'Decisions on pay and bonuses for the Senior Leadership Team are made by the Board's People Committee in line with guidance from the Cabinet Office and the Senior Salaries Review Body. The process and the salary increase applied was in accordance with the Government pay guidance for Senior Civil Servants.'
