The Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry into a charity involved in the running of House of St Barnabas, a historic building in central London that has been used to support people impacted by homelessness since 1862.

The probe has been launched after the regulator received “a serious incident report informing it that the charity has been a victim of fraud”.

This report centres on a disputed loan secured against the property at 1 Greek Street, Soho, that “appears not to have been repaid” and has seen the creditor involved take steps to recover the loan, said the regulator.

The Commission is concerned that as a result the building “is at serious risk”.

It says its investigation aims “to establish the facts leading up to this point, to examine the financial arrangements and decision-making involving the charity”.

It will look at whether the property is at risk, whether governance arrangements in place at the charity “are fit for purpose” and the decisions made around financial arrangements and loans.

The House of Barnabas was set up during the Victorian era at the Grade-1 listed Georgian property to “provide temporary relief and support to people experiencing homeless”, details the Commission.

However, two years ago the House of St Barnabas charity that ran the property entered liquidation following financial difficulties. Its work had been to support homeless people to find work and housing through its graduate programme. This focused around opportunities to work at the site’s members’ bar.

Following its closure a new corporate trustee The Explorers Club (Soho) was appointed to a linked charity, House of St Barnabas in Soho, in place of the defunct organisation.

The Explorers Club then entered into a licence earlier this year with a private company The Explorers Club (London) Ltd, which was allowed to use the Soho property to run a private members club and collect members’ fees, that would generate income for the charity and allow it to continue operating.

The property has a chapel and one of the largest private gardens in Soho.

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