{"id":12956,"date":"2023-12-29T16:57:36","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T16:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxpolicy.org.uk\/?p=12956"},"modified":"2023-12-29T18:09:26","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T18:09:26","slug":"struck_off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heacham.neidles.com\/2023\/12\/29\/struck_off\/","title":{"rendered":"Douglas Barrowman, PPE Medpro, the BVI loan and the struck-off solicitor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are plenty of reasons to be suspicious of PPE Medpro. The way it obtained a contract<\/a> to supply PPE to the Government during the pandemic. The oddity of there being both a UK company<\/a> and Isle of Man company<\/a> with the same name (something most businesses would try to avoid). The alleged uselessness of the PPE it supplied<\/a>. The steps taken to hide that it was owned by Douglas Barrowman<\/a>. That Baroness Mone (his wife) both introduced PPE Medpro to the Government<\/a> and shares in its profits<\/a>. The documentary it funded<\/a> to defend the couple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the news that PPE Medpro is involved in a peculiar loan arrangement is not surprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies that borrow money often grant security to the lender. Sometimes a mortgage – in much the same way that an individual would borrow from a bank; other times, the security isn’t over land, but is over assets. The benefit for the lender is that, if the borrower becomes insolvent, a secured lender is paid out in priority to ordinary unsecured creditors. The charge can be “fixed” or “floating” (“fixed” is practically more difficult in many cases, but has a higher priority in insolvency).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can see the security granted by a company on its Companies House charge register. Here’s the charge register<\/a> for PPE Medpro Limited:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can click through that to the debenture (the document creating the charge). In case this is withdrawn\/amended, I’ve saved a copy here<\/a>. The debenture secures obligations under a loan facility from a BVI company called Perree (PTC) Limited – the company involved in the shadowy ownership arrangements of his Belgravia house<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several interesting things about this:<\/p>\n\n\n

1. The BVI loan<\/h2>\n\n\n

Obvious questions arise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n