Anger as council prints company losses (From Wandsworth Guardian)

Croydon BID questions why council printed its accounts

7:10am Thursday 5th July 2012 in News By Nick Hitchens

Max Menon, chairman of Croydon BID

The chairman of a company set up to support business in Croydon town centre is furious after the council printed accounts stating it made a £200,000 loss last year.

Max Menon, chairman of Croydon business improvement district (Bid), responded angrily after discovering his company’s financial situation printed in a statement of accounts put out by Croydon Council last week.

The accounts state Bid made a £205,000 loss during 2011/12, reducing its surplus to £108,000.

Mr Menon only discovered his company’s finances had been put into the public domain when contacted by the Croydon Guardian.

He said: "I’m going to take this up with Jon Rouse (Chief executive of Croydon Council). I’m not having my company’s finances being published without me even being told.

"We are completely separate to the council. I don’t understand why they would publish this."

Croydon Council is employed by Croydon Bid to collect its levy from town centre businesses, which contribute to its funding.

Since 2010, the council has provided management support services to Croydon Bid.

Mr Menon did not deny the loss, but said he would only comment when Croydon Bid was ready to publish its own figures.

He said: "When we publish our accounts they will be for the publish record and I will comment then.

"I haven’t had the figures, I don’t have them on the top of my head, so how can I comment?"

However, he stated the Croydon Bid still had a working surplus and added that spending differed from year to year.

In March, Croydon Bid threatened to cut the £200,000 it provides to supplement the Metropolitan Police with five additional officers for the town centre.

Mr Menon said any losses had nothing to do with this decision, and negotiations with the police were ongoing.

A spokesman for the council defended the decision to publish the figures and said they had been printed in the council’s accounts before and no complaint had been made.