Retford director disqualified after dishonestly securing Covid loan for company

Carl Barnes (DOB: June 14, 1979) applied for a Bounce Back loan of £47,500 for Central Plumbing & Heating Lincoln Ltd.  

He declared the company had a turnover of £340,000 when in reality it was nothing.  

Barnes has been banned as a company director for 11 years.

The Secretary of State accepted a voluntary disqualification undertaking offered by him.  

The director of a plumbing and heating company has been banned for 11 years after overstating his company’s turnover by hundreds of thousands of pounds to secure a Covid Bounce Back loan.  

Carl Barnes, of Ollerton Road, Retford, was the director of Central Plumbing & Heating Lincoln Ltd, which was incorporated in April 2016.   

The company, based on Wavell Drive in Lincoln, made a small profit in its first year of trading, but dormant accounts were filed by Barnes in the following years.  

In August 2020, the 45-year-old falsely claimed the company had a turnover of £340,000 for 2019, despite the actual turnover being £0.

He received a Covid Bounce Back loan for the company of £47,500 which it was not entitled to.  

Barnes was disqualified as a director for 11 years on April 17, 2025, with the ban beginning on May 8, 2025.  

Kevin Read, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Carl Barnes exploited the Bounce Back Loan Scheme by providing false information about his company’s turnover.  

“His dishonesty has resulted in this significant director disqualification, which prevents him from forming or managing a company for more than a decade.   

“The Insolvency Service will continue to investigate those who abused this scheme – designed to help small businesses during the pandemic – and bring them to justice.”

Central Plumbing & Heating Lincoln Ltd went into liquidation in October 2022.  

The disqualification order prevents Barnes from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.