A British entrepreneur has been banned from running a car wash business for the next 10 years, after falsely claiming government-backed Covid support money. The Suffolk director exaggerated the turnover of his Hertfordshire-based business by 5 times the true amount to falsely claim a £50,000 loan.

The now convicted owner was the sole director of Matcas Ltd, which was incorporated in October 2016 and initially traded as a construction and cleaning company until the Covid-19 pandemic affected trade. Then he pivoted the firm to operate as a car wash.

Bounce Back Loan

In June 2020 the owner applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan to support the transition of the business, based on his 2019 turnover, which he stated as £280,000.

Investigators later discovered that Matcas Ltd’s actual turnover in 2019 had been around £49,200. The company should have been entitled to a loan of around £12,300 based on its true turnover.

Since then, the car wash company folded.

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