Captain Tom Moore fund faces charity probe: Foundation in crisis as watchdog opens inquiry

The Captain Tom Foundation faces further investigation after the charities watchdog launched a probe into claims that a firm controlled by the late Second World War veteran’s daughter trademarked his name and reportedly made £800,000.

The Charity Commission first opened a case into the charity in March last year, a month after Tom Moore died with Covid aged 100, and began reviewing the set-up of the organisation. 

This has now escalated to an inquiry after the watchdog said it had become concerned that a failure to take into account intellectual property and trademark issues when the charity was set up gave private company Club Nook Ltd the opportunity to trade mark variations of the name ‘Captain Tom’ without objection from the charity – and ‘may have generated significant profit’ for the firm.

Club Nook Ltd is controlled by Sir Tom’s daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin. It was used to register names such as Captain Tom and Walk with Tom for commercial use, and it owns a number of trademark-registered names for purposes including beer, spirits, greeting cards, lunch boxes and water bottles. 

A Companies House filing shows that the firm was registered in April 2020, less than two weeks before the foundation was incorporated. 

The Times reported that Club Nook Ltd made £809,000 in its first year, and that after creditors were paid, it was left with just under £500,000. 

As well as donations, the Captain Tom Foundation generates income through branded merchandise including T-shirts and gin.

The Charity Commission’s principal focus is said to be on intellectual property and trademark issues. It will also examine the trustees’ decision-making and the charity’s governance, including managing conflicts of interest. Captain Tom’s daughter Hannah is a former trustee of the foundation and her husband Colin remains on the board. 

In March this year, the publication of the first annual accounts of the foundation showed the charity incurred £240,000 in costs and gave £160,000 to good causes.

Sir Tom became a national hero after raising £38million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his Bedfordshire garden before his 100th birthday at the height of the first national Covid lockdown in April 2020. The Captain Tom Foundation was registered on June 5, 2020 following his fundraising efforts. 

The commission said the money raised for the NHS, which was donated to NHS Charities Together, is not part of the scope of its inquiry.

Captain Sir Tom Moore pictured with his own branded gin in November 2020. The branding on the bottle depicts the iconic picture of Captain Tom using his walking frame to raise millions for the NHS

A Captain Tom skirt which is available on Redbubble

Another Captain Tom product which is available on Redbubble – a cushion with his likeness and a Union Jack

The amazing fundraising effort propelled Sir Captain Tom to superstardom. He received a special BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award and achieved a UK number one with a cover of You’ll Never Walk Alone – making him the oldest person to record a UK number one. The accolades didn’t stop there. He was made an honorary colonel and was later knighted by the Queen (pictured in 2020) at Windsor Castle

The couple established a company, Club Nook Ltd. The commission said it was given the opportunity to trademark variations of the name Captain Tom, which ‘may have generated significant profit’. The commission said it is concerned that a ‘failure to consider intellectual property and trademark issues’ when the charity was set up gave Club Nook Ltd the opportunity to trademark variations of the name ‘Captain Tom’ without objection from the charity.

Mrs Ingram-Moore was allowed to act as interim CEO on £85,000 a year for up to nine months. A new CEO, Jack Gilbert – who has 20 years’ experience in the voluntary sector – took over this month.

The inquiry, which was launched on June 16, is analysing if the trustees of The Captain Tom Foundation have been responsible for mismanagement or misconduct in the administration of the charity leading to any losses, adequately managed conflicts of interest and complied with their duties and responsibilities under charity law.

The family said they welcomed the Charity Commission’s announcement. They said that Club Nook Ltd made its application for trademarks before the formation of the foundation and that Mr and Mrs Ingram-Moore were trustee directors of the charity upon its formation.

Helen Stephenson, chief executive of the Charity Commission, said: ‘The late Captain Sir Tom Moore inspired the nation with his courage, tenacity and concern for others. It is vital that public trust in charity is protected, and that people continue to feel confident in supporting good causes.

‘We do not take any decision to open an inquiry lightly but in this case our concerns have mounted. We consider it in the public interest to examine them through a formal investigation, which gives us access to the full range of our protective and enforcement powers.’

The commission previously raised concerns about the payment of consultancy fees to third parties but said it was later ‘satisfied’ that these specific payments were a reasonable reimbursement for expenses incurred by the companies in the formation of the charity.

It added that it was also satisfied that the payments were ‘adequately identified and managed’.

Stephen Jones, chairman of the board of trustees of the Captain Tom Foundation, said: ‘We will, of course, work closely with the commission in its inquiry relating to intellectual property management.

‘I note that the trustees confirmed with the commission during the process of registration that the ‘image rights and intellectual property rights of the name were held within a private family trust’, and the commission were aware that this was always intended to be the case.

‘We welcome that the Charity Commission today reports that it is ‘satisfied’ in relation to questions that had been raised about the foundation’s annual report which was published in February, and has concluded that payments were reasonable and that conflicts of interest were identified and managed.’

Jack Gilbert, who took on the role of chief executive on June 1, added: ‘My appointment marks the start of an important period of transformation for the Captain Tom Foundation.

‘With a revitalised and more focused mission, in coming months we will be announcing an array of charitable activities at both grassroots and national levels that change the way we think, feel and act towards age and ageing, combat ageism, and build meaningful connections between communities and generations.

‘Working with the board, I am using the NCVO-backed Trusted Charities standards to ensure that in all respects, including governance and finance, the foundation conforms to best practice. These will be externally validated as part of the process.’

A statement from the Ingram-Moore family said: ‘The Ingram-Moore family has welcomed the press release issued today by the Charity Commission, which has found no issues in the accounts of the Captain Tom Foundation, published in February 2022’ 

Supported by a zimmer-frame, the Second World War veteran (pictured) set a challenge to walk 100 lengths of his garden at his home in Bedfordshire

Captain Sir Tom pictured with his family after receiving a knighthood from the Queen

A statement from the Ingram-Moore family said: ‘The Ingram-Moore family has welcomed the press release issued today by the Charity Commission, which has found no issues in the accounts of the Captain Tom Foundation, published in February 2022.

‘On behalf of our family, there are two points we would like to make. Club Nook Ltd made its application for various trademarks in April 2020 prior to the formation of the Captain Tom Foundation (May 5 2020).

‘Neither Hannah nor Colin Ingram-Moore were trustee directors of the Captain Tom Foundation upon its formation.’

Speaking in March, Captain Sir Tom’s daughter emotionally denied allegations that the charity set up in the British war hero’s name tried to appoint her as chief executive on a six-figure salary.

Hannah Ingram-Moore told ITV’s This Morning that ‘we’re not hiding anything’ and accused the media of ‘damaging’ her late father’s legacy.

Speaking to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, Mrs Ingram-Moore denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the accounts were ‘a snapshot in time in the first year of the charity’.  Saying the accounts were ‘independently audited’, she added: ‘We couldn’t have made any of these numbers up.

‘But the £150,000 is absolutely not true. What the trustees did was ask for a benchmarking: ‘Please tell us if we were to employ a CEO, what would be the benchmark? What’s the highest, what’s the lowest?’. The highest happened to be £150,000′.

Captain Tom’s daughter held back tears as she said: ‘We’re not hiding anything. There’s nothing wrong, we haven’t made any false action, and I genuinely think, though, that the vast majority of people think that’.

Mrs Ingram-Moore admitted that the family was ‘naïve’ but ‘not bad’ in setting up a charity in her father’s name.

‘I think we’ve been incredibly naïve, but I don’t think we’re bad. We stepped into this for love, for humanity, for allowing as many people as possible access to his legacy,’ she said.

‘We never thought of the darkness, never. It never crossed our minds.’ She added: ‘In the end, my father taught us resilience and humanity. ‘Ultimately our ambition in his name is a world without ageism.

‘Every single day I see the hate, or the false headlines, or the desire to find a hole in me.’