A world sprinting champion who won £75,000 on Dragons’ Den illegally pocketed two Covid Bounce Back business loans to buy himself a £1.8m mansion.
Rick Beardsell, 46, was only entitled to one Covid Bounce Back loan of a maximum £50,000 but he fraudulently applied for two.
This was despite him receiving a £75,000 investment from TV Dragons Tej Lalvani and Deborah Meaden for his successful protein shake bottle business.
The father of two, who won a total of seven gold medals for GB in World Masters Athletics Championships, was supposed to use the Covid loans to prop up his other firm which sells sportswear.
But instead, he used it to help finance the purchase of an impressive five-bedroom property called Holly House in the exclusive village of Prestbury, Cheshire.
Under the Government’s application rules, Beardsell was only permitted to one bounce back loan but he applied for two – then vastly inflated his annual turnover by up to 23 times.
None of the money he fiddled went on the company.
At Chester Crown Court, Beardsell faced up to three years in jail under sentencing guidelines after he admitted two charges of fraud.
However, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison suspended for two years after prosecutors told a judge he had since paid all the money back.
Beardsell, who won two World Records for sprinting and holds the fastest record for a 400-metre sprint for a 36-year-old at the 2015 WMA, had appeared on Dragons’ Den to get investment for his shaker bottle manufacture firm ShakeSphere in return for 30 per cent equity.
He claimed the support of Meaden and Lalvani subsequently helped him get sales of more than 1 million shakers worldwide across the following two years.
But Geoff Whealan, prosecuting for the Insolvency Service, said Beardsell made fraudulent applications for bounce back loans to HSBC in December 2020 and then to NatWest in January 2021 in respect of his other firm Sports Creative Ltd.
‘The defendant stated on the HSBC form that the turnover of Sports Creative was £485,000 and on the NatWest form said it was £320,000 – but unaudited financial statements showed turnover for the year end February 2020 was £20,622,’ he said.
‘The turnover was clearly exaggerated to secure the maximum bounce back loan and subsequent transactions showed the bounce back loan funds were not being used for the economic benefit or business purposes of Sports Creative at this time.’
The court heard the HSBC and NatWest monies landed in Sports Creative’s account in January 2021 but was then transferred to other bank accounts – including Beardsell’s personal Santander account.
Over a six-month period there were 179 debits from Santander totalling £5,698.15 for non-business purposes and credits of £399,116.63.
Then in September 2021, he transferred £431,160.80, which included the remaining bounce back loan funds, to a firm of solicitors for the purchase of Holly House he bought with his fitness fanatic wife Eszter.
Mr Whelan added: ‘In effect the bounce back loan funds had been used for this purchase and it can be inferred from the defendant’s conduct that it was his intention to use the bounce back loans for this purpose at the time he made the application for it.
‘But in relation to repayment, the defendant has repaid the bounce back loans to each bank.’
Beardsell attended an interview under caution at offices of the Insolvency Service in October 2024.
In a statement, he said: ‘The guidance pertaining to bounce back loans indicated that the proceeds of such loans may be utilized for any purpose that yields a direct benefit to the company.
‘At that juncture, I sought professional advice and was advised that such purposes include, but are not limited to, the coverage of overhead expenses or outstanding liabilities, as well as the investment in company assets or property.
‘The funds that were transferred to my personal account constituted a director’s loan and other economical overheads for the business.’
His counsel Nichola Cafferkey said in mitigation: ‘The loss of his good character is of some significance in respect of a man who has dedicated his life to his family, his professional entities and also his sporting endeavours.
‘A year prior to the submission of the first loan application, the defendant was diagnosed with an aggressive form of testicular cancer and required surgery and extensive chemotherapy. The chemotherapy was successful but led to some significant side effects.
‘One of those being vertigo, of which he had a severe episode which required hospitalisation and thereafter there are ongoing long-term issues as a result of that.
‘The investigations brought on by the defendant’s own actions has had an impact on his family which has led to a situation where he has been experiencing significant stress over the past few years.
‘On top of that there are ongoing knee pains associated with his athletic success at national and international level. He has been running a business for many years without issue and it is plain e is extremely remorseful and regretful for his actions.
‘These offences were out of character and were committed four years ago. He has taken responsibility and repaid the money back. He knows that it’s his own fault. He has brought shame on his family and brought shame on himself.
‘His wife is also his business partner and concerns that they have had about the ability to provide financially for their young children have been significant.
‘The impact on his wife’s physical health in terms of stress and strain has been significant. There has been significant weight loss and insomnia.’
Beardsell was also ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and pays prosecution costs of £11,142.70.
SportsCreative was wound up in 2022 but ShakeSphere, which he runs with Eszter, is still operating successfully.
Sentencing Judge Simon Berkson told him: ‘You fraudulently lied and lied again in your applications for these loans.
‘They were supposed to be for use in keeping your business running but the money was used for your own personal needs and the needs of your family.
‘This is not a victimless crime. The government was trying to help struggling businesses at the time of national crisis.
‘People were in lockdown, people were dying and people were very ill at the time when people required their public services.
‘You used fraudulently obtained public funds for your own use, depriving honest people of the scheme’s funds when the country was in crisis.
‘You are a generally successful man both in business and in sports, particularly your involvement with athletics. You continue to run your business and it was on the TV programme Dragons’ Den.
‘You are a married person with two children and they are young children. You have survived an aggressive form of cancer.
‘I have concluded that an immediate custodial sentence would have a significant harmful impact on your wife and children.’
