Press release

Director disqualified for 11 years after dishonestly securing Covid loan for Lincoln plumbing and heating company

Carl Barnes, the director of Central Plumbing & Heating Lincoln Ltd, made false statements about the company’s turnover to secure a Bounce Back loan �

  • Carl Barnes applied for a Bounce Back loan of £47,500 for Central Plumbing & Heating Lincoln Ltd. â¶Ä¯Â�

  • He declared the company had a turnover of Â�340,000 when in reality it was nothing. â¶Ä¯Â�

  • Barnes has been banned as a company director for 11 years. The Secretary of State accepted a voluntary disqualification undertaking offered by him. â¶Ä¯Â�

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. â¶Ä¯Â�

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. â¶Ä¯Â�

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.Ìý

He received a Covid Bounce Back loan for the company of £47,500 which it was not entitled to. â¶Ä¯Â�

Barnes was disqualified as a director for 11 years on 17 April 2025, with the ban beginning on 8 May 2025. â¶Ä¯Â�

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. â¶Ä¯Â�

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. â¶Ä¯Â�

The disqualification order prevents Barnes from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court. â¶Ä¯Â�

Further information

Updates to this page

Published 20 May 2025