A company connected to Baroness Michelle Mone and her husband, Doug Barrowman, faces an additional £39 million in tax liabilities on top of the £148 million it has been ordered to pay the government for a breach of contract related to PPE supply.
Documents filed by the administrator of PPE Medpro on Tuesday revealed the outstanding amount owed to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Last month, a court determined that the company had breached its contract to provide medical gowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the supplied gowns failed to meet the required sterility certification standards.
Both HMRC and the administrators have declined to issue any comments regarding the matter.
Following PPE Medpro’s entry into administration last month, Health Secretary Wes Streeting affirmed the government’s commitment to pursuing the company “with everything we’ve got” to recover the owed funds.
Administrator filings indicate that PPE Medpro possesses £672,774 available for distribution to unsecured creditors, a sum significantly less than the debt owed to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
These filings also reveal that the total debt owed to the government is larger than previously estimated.
In 2020, during the initial outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government undertook urgent measures to secure PPE supplies amidst nationwide lockdowns and reports of shortages in hospitals.
PPE Medpro, established in May of that year by a consortium led by Baroness Mone’s husband, Doug Barrowman, secured its initial government contract to supply masks through a designated “VIP lane,” following a recommendation from Baroness Mone.
The Department of Health and Social Care initiated legal action against PPE Medpro, ultimately winning damages based on claims that the company breached its contractual obligations to supply medical gowns.
In a 2023 interview with the BBC, Mr. Barrowman acknowledged his status as the ultimate beneficial owner of PPE Medpro. According to Companies House documents, the shares are registered under the name of accountant Arthur Lancaster.
During the same interview, he disclosed that he received over £60 million in profits from PPE Medpro.
Baroness Mone, known for founding the lingerie company Ultimo, admitted that millions of pounds from these profits were placed into a trust from which she and her children were beneficiaries.
Angelo (PTC), an Isle of Man-based company linked to Mr. Barrowman, holds a secured debt of £1 million with PPE Medpro. This secured status likely grants it priority over government creditors in the disbursement of recovered funds from the company.
The administrators’ report indicates that there are sufficient funds anticipated to fully repay this debt.
Regulatory filings in the Isle of Man identify Knox House Trust, a part of Barrowman’s Knox group of companies, as the beneficial owner of Angelo (PTC).
Arthur Lancaster and a spokesperson for Doug Barrowman have not responded to requests for comment.
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