A wine business boss has been disqualified from being a director after his firm obtained a Covid bounce back loan (BBL) it was ineligible for, a report has found.

Ian Richards, whose last known address was Windermere Drive, Ramsbottom, caused Richards and Richards Fine Wines Limited (R&R) to apply for and obtain a BBL of £19,500 on June 26, 2020 “when he knew or ought to have known” the business was "not entitled" to the loan.

The BBL was introduced at the start of the pandemic in 2020. It helped small and medium-sized businesses borrow between £2,000 and £50,000 at a low interest rate, guaranteed by the government. Companies were entitled to a single loan of up to 25 per cent of their turnover under the scheme.

In a report, government agency The Insolvency Service said R&R declared its turnover for the 2019 calendar year was £78,000, on behalf of applying for the BBL.

But company accounts to the year ending July 30, 2019 recorded a turnover of £2,227 while the figure reported 12 months later was £388.

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The report said: “Based on this level of turnover for the calendar year 2019, R&R was not eligible for a BBL.

“R&R received the BBL funds of £19,500 on October 2, 2020.

“R&R made repayments of £5,191 towards the BBL.”

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The business entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation on February 15 last year.

The total liabilities at liquidation amounted to £151,338, of which £14,309 relates to the amount owed in respect of the BBL, the report said.

Mr Richard, 71, has been disqualified from being a company director for nine years following the order, which came into place on July 1.

In April, it emerged that more than 800 company directors had been disqualified for abusing Covid support schemes following investigations by The Insolvency Service.