Leighton Buzzard construction firm owner banned as company director after Covid loan abuse

The Royal Courts of Justice building, which houses the High Court of England and Wales (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)

A Leighton Buzzard man who transferred the “vast majority” of a £50k Covid bounce back loan to his personal bank account has been banned as a company director for 13 years.

Nick Addison, aged 50, of Fieldfare, submitted ‘misleading’ information to secure the loan – and provided no evidence he used any of the money for his business.

After a hearing at the High Court in London he was banned as a company director until 2037 and ordered to pay costs of £5,158.

Addison was the sole director of Addison’s Quality Ltd, a construction firm that focused mainly on dry lining and ceiling repairs.

Kevin Read, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Nick Addison provided false information to the bank to secure taxpayer-backed money while the country was in lockdown during the first few months of the pandemic.

“Addison then displayed further contempt for the Bounce Back Loan Scheme by transferring funds out of his company’s account and into his own personal bank account.

“The 13-year disqualification order reflects the serious nature of this misconduct and means Addison cannot be involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company in the UK until 2037.”

The Insolvency Service explained that Addison applied for a bounce back loan in May 2020, falsely claiming that the turnover of his business in 2019 was £250,000 – meaning he was eligible for the maximum loan of £50k.

But the actual turnover of the business was not even a quarter of that – with just under £62k in sales income being paid into the company’s bank account for that year. This meant it was eligible for a loan of around £15,500.

Bounce back loan funds of £50,000 were paid into Addison’s account in May 2020 and within four days, he had started to transfer some of the money into his personal account.

Between May and September 2020, more than £48,000 was paid to his personal account.

He provided no evidence that the loan was used for his business and did not respond to requests for further information from the Insolvency Service during its investigations.

Addison’s disqualification begins on Tuesday, August 13.

His company, Addison’s Quality went into liquidation in March 2021.