The Charity Commission is assessing concerns raised about the Barrowman Foundation, a significant donor to the Prince’s Trust.
Yesterday, the Guardian reported that the Charity Commission is investigating the Foundation over allegations that it received “unsecured loans”.
The regulator confirmed that it has opened a compliance case into the Foundation, which is listed as a “platinum patron” of the Prince’s Trust, a charity set up by Prince Charles in 1976.
Meanwhile, the Prince’s Trust said it has not received any funds from the Foundation's founder Doug Barrowman since February 2019 and does not intend to accept any further donations.
Prince’s Trust: ‘We have no plans to accept further donations’
A spokesperson from the Prince’s Trust said: “We have not received any funds from Mr Barrowman since February 2019 and have no plans to accept any further donations.”
The Charity Commission has made no findings of wrongdoing at this time and is unable to comment any further while the investigation is ongoing.
A Charity Commission spokesperson told Civil Society News: “We have now opened a regulatory compliance case into the Barrowman Foundation and will engage with trustees to assess concerns raised.”
Civil Society News has contacted the Barrowman Foundation for comment.
Funding arrangements
Founded by businessman and philanthropist Barrowman in 2017, the Foundation supports charities that work with vulnerable young people.
In 2016, Barrowman pledged to give £2m to the Prince’s Trust to build a centre in Manchester. Barrowman also sat on the board of the One Million Lives Campaign, which had raised £40m to support the work of the trust.
The Foundation’s accounts show that it made grants and donations of £620,740 in 2020 and £532,341 in 2018-19. The Foundation’s main pledges for both years were to the Prince’s Trust. It had no income for the financial year ended 31 December 2020 and three trustees.
According to the Guardian, the Foundation is funded by loans from Barrowman, amounting to around £1.5m. The Prince’s Trust previously came under fire for making the Foundation a platinum patron, with critics saying that it was an inappropriate decision.
Barrowman owns the Knox Group of companies, an independent group of businesses with assets under management and administration approaching £3bn. Earlier this year, it was accused of being involved in tax avoidance schemes and fined by HM Revenue and Customs £150,000 for not complying with a tax investigation.
Editor’s Note: This piece has been updated to clarify that the One Million Lives Campaign has now stopped.
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