Entrepreneur's ex-firm faces claims of £8.4m owed

A collapsed apprenticeship firm that was run by a high-profile West Midlands entrepreneur is subject to claims of £8.4m owed by bodies including a government agency, a liquidator's report has said.

GB Training (UK) Ltd, a private training provider covering a variety of sectors, was liquidated in October 2020. It was run by Lawrence Barton, who describes himself as a community champion and whose roles include director of Birmingham Pride.

A government agency which funded training provided by the company has raised concerns about whether some learners were eligible for such funded training, and whether some training took place as recorded, the report said.

Mr Barton denies any wrongdoing.

He said the company's activities complied with all legal and regulatory requirements.

Bodies which funded training, including the government's Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), are seeking back money.

Mr Barton's solicitor and Kevin Mawer, the liquidator who wrote the report, said in a joint statement they hoped to reach a settlement "in the coming days" but terms would be confidential.

In 2022 the businessman was made the first night-time economy champion for Birmingham City Council.

He is additionally known in the city for being the driving force behind LGBT+ venues The Nightingale and The Village Inn, along with his duties with Birmingham Pride.

His prominent roles also include service as deputy lord lieutenant for the West Midlands - an appointment of the Crown, working with the region's lord lieutenant to carry out a range of public duties.

The liquidator's report, filed with Companies House, said the ESFA funded Mr Barton's company to provide training for the academic years 2014-15 until 2019-20.

However, the agency raised concerns with the company about "potential irregularities" in June 2020 and calculated it was owed about £4.76m, the report added.

Among the ESFA's concerns, according to the document, was that it had contacted two people who were supposed to have completed training but who stated that they "had never done an apprenticeship".

ESFA declined to comment on the report.

The WMCA - which oversees 18 councils in the region - sent an audit to the liquidator in 2021 that "showed ineligible claims or funds at risk in 44% of audited claims", according to the report.

It has calculated it is owed more than £1m.

The WMCA confirmed to the BBC it had written to the company's liquidator to raise concerns, but it said it could not comment further on an active case.

A third body mentioned in the report, North East Surrey College of Technology, is said to be owed more than £2.63m. The college has been contacted for comment.

The liquidator's report, which was published on 30 December 2024, said GB Training also made payments worth £331,300 to "companies controlled by Lawrence Barton or members of his family" days before it collapsed.

According to the document, the sum included payments to three companies - The Nightingale (UK) Limited, which ran The Nightingale nightclub; GB Holdings (UK) Limited, which ran The Village Inn venue; and Good with Wood (UK) Limited.

The report said the payments were made on 18 September 2020, before GB Training ceased trading on 24 September and was formally liquidated a month later.

Mr Mawer, the liquidator, said in the report he could see "no commercial basis" for these payments and "the debts were unsecured and interest free".

Mr Barton has previously disputed the liquidator's interpretation of events and has described the payments as "legally justified".

Both The Nightingale Limited and GB Holdings went into administration on 28 June 2024 and were later bought by a company called Develop Excellence.

Mr Barton said: "The Insolvency Service conducted a full and independent two-year investigation into my role as a director following a complaint made by ESFA in respect of GB Training.

"After an extensive review of all relevant evidence, they determined that no action was necessary and there were no findings of misconduct. That decision was reached independently by the UK's official regulatory body for director conduct and remains a matter of public record.

"While I am unable to comment further due to legal and commercial considerations, the outcome of this investigation speaks for itself."

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