UK training and development company shut down after abusing Covid support for thousands

A company purported to be involved in training, research and development was wound up by the High Court after abusing the UK’s Covid support scheme, as reported on Friday, October 28. There was no evidence it had been trading after March 2019, a year before the pandemic.

Keysholders Ltd was wound up by the High Court on June 21, 2022, and the Official Receiver has been appointed Liquidator of the company, a statement read.

Despite there being no evidence the training and development company had been trading during the Covid pandemic, Keysholders Ltd applied for a £40,000 (€46,000)Bounce Back Loan in May 2020 – despite funding through the scheme only being available to firms adversely impacted by the pandemic.

The company stated in its application that its turnover for the period ending December 31, 2019, had been £200,000 (€231,000) when in reality its turnover was closer to £65,000 (€75,000).

The director of Keysholders Ltd at the time of its winding up was Olayinka Adediran and in August 2020, she submitted an application for funding through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan scheme for £250,000 (€289,000). This was rejected, but the loan application now stated turnover for year ending 31 December 2019 was in fact £550,000 (€637,000).

In November 2020, the company obtained the first of four grants through the Job Retention Scheme (JRS), totalling £20,000 (€23,000). This scheme allowed firms to retain staff through the pandemic, by providing funding of 80 per cent of wages up to a limit of £2,500 (€2,900) per month per employee.

However, the contract for the staff member these payments were theoretically for, shows that they were employed after the date on that the business was eligible to receive JRS funding for that individual.

The High Court agreed that closing down the company was in the public interest, given that it was trading without commercial probity and was used as a vehicle to abuse three Covid relief schemes.

Edna Okhiria, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Our investigation found that this company could demonstrate no evidence of legitimate trading since at least March 2019, yet has been claiming taxpayers’ money through Covid-19 financial support schemes that it was not entitled to.

“We will always seek to have companies wound-up in such cases, in the public interest.”

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