The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a charity that loaned the son of a trustee more than £900,000.

The investigation into the Allen Trust has been launched after its accounts for the year ending March 2024 showed that the money had been loaned to the son of its chair Tony Allen.

The trustees have confirmed to the regulator that the loan was made in April 2018 and then extended in 2021 for an additional period of five years, with full repayment due in the coming months.

The Commission said: “It is not clear that the decision to make this loan, or extend its terms, was in the best interests of the charity.”

The following year’s accounts confirm that this money is still outstanding, with a total of £907,632 owed. These accounts also show that the son was charged £13,616 in interest that year on the loan.

The regulator said that during its investigation “other serious financial concerns came to light, including evidence of other possible private trustee benefits and concerns around governance and unmanaged conflicts of interest”.

The charity's latest accounts, for the year ending March 2025, show that it received £3,600 from the Ultimate Classic Car Hire Ltd, a company that Tony Allen is a director of.

This payment was for the hire of a Rolls Royce Phantom III 1938 which is listed as a charity asset.

The regulator’s inquiry will look at whether trustees are complying with their legal duties, whether there has been unauthorised private benefit to the trustees and whether conflicts of interest have been properly managed.

Trustees’ decision making in relation to making unsecured loans and whether they have complied with their governing document will also be looked at.

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