The billionaire founder of Manchester-headquartered e-commerce giant THG received a loan of more than £150m from a North West council.
Warrington Council advanced £151m of a £202m facility to an investment company called Icon 3 Holdco, which is indirectly controlled by Matthew Moulding, according to a report prepared for the authority's audit and corporate governance committee in July.
The document also revealed that the figure is more than five times the size of any of the council’s other commercial loans.
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It is also larger than the £70m Trafford Borough Council lent directly to THG at the start of last year which was used to help finance the construction of the group’s headquarters.
The loan provided by Warrington Council was approved by the authority's cabinet sitting in private session in October 2020.
It has been confirmed that the loan was not used to refinance pre-IPO property transactions. The deals were completed before the company floated on the London Stock Exchange in September 2020.
The Warrington Council report reads: "For accounting purposes the council records a number of transactions as long term debtors.
"These transactions mainly reflect loans treated as capital expenditure which are made for a service/function related purpose, as distinct from representing an investment made in reliance upon S.12, LGA2003.
"Accordingly, they do not represent part of the council’s investments, and are not subject to the investment guidance."
However, it added that the details had been provided "in order to provide a comprehensive view on how cash balances have been used, or borrowing incurred".
Mr Moulding was ranked at number 78 in the Sunday Times' latest rich list with an net worth of £2.1bn.
THG recently announced the acquisition of online retailer Cult Beauty for £275m and completed the $255m takeover of Bentley Laboratories, a US upmarket beauty products developer and manufacturer.
In May THG secured a $2bn boost which valued its new business-to-business tech arm at $6.3bn.
A Warrington Council spokesperson said: "Our objective is to secure good quality jobs for local residents and to support the local economy.
"This arrangement is secured against assets and The Hut Group, as one of Warrington’s largest employers, has brought in a significant number of jobs locally."
