The Bury-based boss of a corner shop in Failsworth has been banned after claiming a £50,000 state loan which she was not entitled to.

Natasha Iqbal, 29, claimed the government’s coronavirus bounce back loan (BBL) after making a wrongful declaration about the turnover of Best One Failsworth, a report has found.

Mrs Iqbal, of Brierley Street, Bury, was company director of Best One Failsworth Ltd but overstated the company’s turnover by more than double in order to secure the loan.

The BBL, which is no longer in operation, was a government-funded scheme which aimed to support small and medium sized businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

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The scheme allowed business to take out loans from £2,000 or up to 25 per cent of their turnover. Mrs Iqbal claimed a loan of £50,000, the highest amount available under the scheme.

The report, published following an investigation by the Insolvency Service, found that Mrs Iqbal declared the company’s turnover as £206,000 when the true figure was £79,497 on her BBL application.

The report said: “Mrs Iqbal was appointed director on incorporation and, by her own admission, was responsible for reviewing the financial position of the company.

"On July 11, 2020, six months following the company’s first accounting period, when Mrs Iqbal knew, or ought to have known that the company had achieved turnover of £79,497, she submitted a BBL application in which she declared the company’s turnover as £206,000.

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"On July 15, 2020 the company because of the overstated turnover the company received a BBL of £50,000 instead of the £19,874 it was entitled to.“

Mrs Iqbal has been disqualified from being a company director for 10 years.

The company was placed into liquidation and owes £52,333 to creditors of £51,333 of which £49,501 is owed to the bank in respect of the BBL.