Captain Tom Moore gin made just £1 per bottle for his charity
A limited edition ‘Captain Tom gin’ priced at £100 a bottle came with a promise to send ‘all profits’ to charity when there was no written contract in place, a highly critical report has found.
Sales of the barrel-aged spirit by Otterbeck Distillery resulted in a donation of £530 going to a foundation in the record-breaking fundraiser’s name.
The Charity Commission found that there was no written agreement between his family and the makers, who sold 21 bottles, despite an advert on the distillery’s website saying ‘all profits’ would go to the charity.
A regular ‘Captain Tom’ gin made by the company, retailing for £35.95 a bottle, was subject to paperwork, showing a £1 donation per bottle.
Sales of this line resulted in £8,960 going to the charity.
The gin deal is covered in the report about Hannah and Colin Ingram-Moore’s ties to the Captain Tom Foundation, which the watchdog said allowed them to gain ‘significant personal benefit’ from the ‘blurring’ of their personal and business interests.
The inquiry found that ‘unconflicted trustees’ at the foundation were aware of the regular gin but not the limited edition variety until a few days before a newspaper article about the apparent legal breach on May 10, 2022.
Released yesterday, the report states: ‘The unconflicted trustees told the inquiry that once they learnt about the limited edition gin, they instructed Mr Ingram-Moore to remove it from the charity’s online store as it was not an authorised charity product.’
Concluding that mismanagement had taken place in breach of the Charities Act 1992, the inquiry noted that the then trustees should have been consulted to consider if the limited edition deal was ‘in the best interests of the charity.’
The report states: ‘The Distillery’s website where the gin was sold did not initially provide sufficient information on the amount which was to be donated to the charity and simply stated that profits from the sale would be donated to the charity. This was subsequently corrected, and a solicitation statement included.’
In a Facebook advert posted on August 9, 2020, the distillery said: ‘We are honoured to have partnered with our friend Captain Sir Tom in producing this wonderful London Dry Gin.
‘To be able to help support the Captain Sir Tom Foundation is wonderful.’
In a separate post on the official Captain Tom Instagram page at around the same time, his family said: ‘Along with @otterbeckdistillery, we created the gin to help fundraise and continue Captain Tom’s legacy.’
Neither post states the portion of each sale that would go to the charity.
The gin promotion is part of a wider pattern of ‘mismanagement’ by the Ingram-Moores as identified by the commission.
A £1.4 million advance on Captain Tom’s autobiography and an £18,000 awards ceremony appearance fee for Ms Ingram-Moore were among the other deals where the links between the family and the foundation were unclear, according to the regulator.
The family has branded the report ‘unjust and excessive’ and insisted they ‘never took a penny’ from public donations. They also claimed to have been treated ‘unfairly and unjustly’ by the two-year investigation.
In a statement, they spoke of the ‘serious toll’ the inquiry has had on their health and accused the watchdog of ‘unfairly tarnishing’ their name.
They added that the watchdog had a ‘predetermined agenda’.
The foundation was set up to spread the generosity shown by the late Second World War veteran among a wide range of good causes.
Captain Tom raised £38.9 million for NHS Charities Together, a separate charity, by walking 100 laps of his garden for his 100th birthday at the height of the Covid lockdown in 2020.
The couple were disqualified from being charity trustees —positions they had originally held at the foundation — by the regulator in July.
At the time the breach came to light, the family and distillery released a statement saying: ‘Otterbeck Distillery has agreed to share 100 per cent of profits for the Captain Sir Tom 100 gin – a limited edition of only 100 bottles – with the Captain Tom Foundation.
‘The team at the small family-run Yorkshire business met Captain Sir Tom because of a mutual passion for the Yorkshire Dales and vintage motorcycles and have kindly agreed to give their time and expertise after he expressed an interest in having a gin named after him.
‘Payment will be made after Otterbeck’s year end accounts are finalised in two months’ time.
‘For the avoidance of doubt, Otterbeck expect after duty and production costs around £30 from each bottle sold to go to the Captain Tom Foundation. Not all of the bottles of the limited edition of 100 have so far been sold.’
Metro has approached the distillery for further comment.
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