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A company run by Captain Tom’s daughter and her husband has lost nearly £150,000 in the last year, as the couple face scrutiny over their handling of the war hero’s fundraising legacy.
Hannah Ingram-Moore registered Club Nook Ltd in April 2020 with her husband Colin also named as a director, just two weeks before the Captain Tom Foundation was incorporated.
The family were propelled into the public eye after her 99-year-old father walked 100 laps around his garden during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, raising a staggering £38m for the NHS.
After his death in February 2021, there was criticism after investigations found that Ms Ingram-Moore was on an £85,000 salary as the CEO and that Club Nook Ltd had pocketed £800,000 in profits from her father’s three books.
Following her father’s death, Ms Ingram-Moore and her husband have come under scrutiny over their handling of Captain Tom’s Foundation
(Getty)
Accounts filed by the firm earlier this week show that its net assets have fallen from £482,268 in 2021-22, to £336,300 in 2022-23, a drop of £145,968.
The latest balance sheet also shows creditors of £33,190 to be paid within the year, whereas bills in the previous year amounted to £184,513.
During an interview with TalkTV’s Piers Morgan, a tearful Ms Ingram-Moore admitted that the family had kept profits from books authored by the Second World War veteran, and claimed it was his choice.
“These were my father’s books, and it was honestly such a joy for him to write them, but they were his books,” she said. “He had an agent and they worked on that deal, and his wishes were that that money would sit in Club Nook.”
When pushed if Captain Tom had wanted the family to keep the money, she replied “Yes… specifically.”
The war hero published three books with profits of £800,000 going to the couple’s company Club Nook Ltd
(PA Archive)
She also insisted that the profits from his books Captain Tom’s Life Lessons, One Hundred Steps and Tomorrow Will Be A Good Day had never been promised to charity.
This is despite the prologue of his autobiography stating: “Astonishingly at my age, with the offer to write this memoir I have also been given the chance to raise even more money for the charitable foundation now established in my name.”
The Charity Commission is now investigating the foundation, after previously rejecting an application from the charity in 2021 to employ Ms Ingram-Moore on a £100,000 annual salary.
She has also been criticised for accepting £18,000 from Virgin Media to judge a charity award and hand out a plaque, with the foundation only receiving £2,000 of this sum.
The couple have been ordered to demolish an unauthorised spa and pool complex in the grounds of their home
(PA)
In 2021, the couple were granted planning permission from Central Bedfordshire Council to build a Captain Tom Foundation Building in the grounds of their £1.2m home in Marston Moretaine.
While the L-shaped building was given the go-ahead, a subsequent application containing a spa pool was rejected, yet was built regardless.
An enforcement notice was served requiring the spa to be demolished but the couple appealed by arguing that it had been intended for rehab sessions and the local community.
This was rejected by the Planning Inspectorate, with the family failing to submit a further appeal ahead of the six-week deadline.
Ms Ingram-Moore later spoke about her “regret” over the spa and pool complex, and added: “I think it’s all very easy to look back and think I should have made different decisions, but I hadn’t planned on being the CEO.”
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