Unexplained discrepancy in balance owed by James Milner’s events company to James Milner Foundation

1. There is an unexplained discrepancy in the balance owed by James Milner’s events company to charity the James Milner Foundation (“JMF”) between the 2021 accounts for both entities.
2. JMF is a grant-making charity set up by James Milner, the Premier League footballer, and self-evidently run in his name (see 15 February 2021 post). For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Milner is not and has never been a JMF trustee.
3. Registered as a charity with the Charity Commission on 3 April 2012, JMF raises almost all its funds by holding high-profile fundraising events.
4. JMF works with Entertainment Today Ltd (“ET”), an events company owned by Mr Milner and his wife, Amy Milner (see 15 February 2021 post). The footballer is also sole director. ET is a commercial firm, organised to make a profit.
5. Despite the joint working, JMF only disclosed Mr Milner’s events company and its role in fundraising in the 2019 accounts and thereafter (see 15 February 2021 post). The much-improved disclosure came after charity regulator the Charity Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into JMF in 2020, when I brought a series of concerns about the charity to the watchdog’s attention. Having issued “regulatory advice” to the trustees, the commission closed its regulatory compliance case and took no further action.
6. I refer to the JMF accounts, made up to 31 December 2021. Note 17 to the financial statements, related-party transactions, says: “The balance owed by Entertainment Today to the charity at the year end was £11 635 (2020: £Nil).”
7. Meanwhile, the 2021 accounts for ET are also made up to 31 December. By contrast, note 8 to the financial statements, related-party transactions, states: “At the year end the balance owed by Entertainment Today Ltd [to JMF] was £Nil (2020: £Nil).”
8. I asked JMF trustee Mark Hovell in an email to explain the discrepancy in the balance owed by ET to JMF between the 2021 JMF accounts (£11 635) and the 2021 ET accounts (£Nil). Which figure is accurate, if either?
9. Mr Hovell, a solicitor at law firm Mills & Reeve, supplied the following quote from “the accountants”: “This where the JMF stated that Entertainment Today owed them £11 635 whereas the Entertainment Today showed a balance of £Nil. The figure in ET was shown in Trade Creditors and not included in the note.”
10. Mr Hovell finished: “If you have any further queries, please take them up with the accountants.”
11. By reply, I told him I sought clarification of the comment provided by “the accountants”. I therefore requested the name and email address of the appropriate person.
12. Mr Hovell responded: “Please look at the accounts, you’ll see their details are set out in those.”
13. I then pointed out the latest accounts for JMF, made up to 31 December 2022, list the independent examiner: Andrew McLaren at Beever and Struthers, an accountancy firm. This is the only mention of accountants.
14. The examiner carries out the independent examination – a form of external scrutiny of charity accounts – and signs their report.
15. Was Mr Hovell directing me to Mr McLaren for clarification of the comment provided by “the accountants”? The JMF trustee didn’t respond.
16. Meanwhile, it appears ET has recently ceased trading, according to a statement from co-owner Mrs Milner dated 18 April 2024 on ET social media. The events company has now “partnered” with Julie Perry Events Ltd, an independent firm. There Mrs Milner directs “all enquiries” to Julie Perry Events.
17. The ET website has apparently been taken down as well. I therefore asked the new company in an email for an email address for Mrs Milner. I haven’t received a reply.
18. Without an email address, I was unable to request comment from ET.
19. There is no suggestion anyone has done anything illegal. Also, there is no suggestion of inappropriate personal gain by the footballer through his events firm working with the charity. Nor is there any suggestion the payments made by JMF to ET are excessive.
20. One last thing. Back in 2020, JMF took down its website, after my interactions with the charity (see 15 February 2021 post). Instead, it published a simple holding page proclaiming: “Sorry for the inconvenience. Our website is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance. Thank you for your understanding.” (see Figure 8 in 15 February 2021 post). That “scheduled maintenance” seems to be interminably slow: the same single-page website remains years later (screen shot in Figure 1)!

Figure 1. Home page: The James Milner Foundation website at 29 May 2024

James Milner Foundation accounts FINALLY disclose footballer’s events company and its role in fundraising

1. The latest accounts for charity the James Milner Foundation (JMF), made up to 31 December 2019, finally disclose footballer James Milner’s events company and its role in fundraising. The much-improved disclosure comes after charity regulator the Charity Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into JMF last year, when I brought a series of concerns about the charity to the watchdog’s attention. Having issued “regulatory advice” to the trustees, the commission closed its regulatory compliance case and took no further action.
2. I’ve twice published reports of those concerns and my interactions with JMF and its legal representative, Mills & Reeve. On both occasions, the law firm sent a defamation complaint on behalf of Mr Milner in his personal capacity, the JMF trustees (in their personal capacity) and JMF (instructed by the trustees). Mills & Reeve requested immediate removal of each post. This I did.
3. On both occasions, I fully replied to the legal letters. However, the charity via the law firm refused to engage any further after my response to its letter upon publication of my second report. Thus JMF became unresponsive and obstructive.
4. JMF is a grant-making charity set up by former England international footballer Mr Milner and self-evidently run in his name. Registered as a charity with the Charity Commission on 3 April 2012, JMF raises almost all its funds by holding high-profile fundraising events.
5. On 1 December 2019, the charity held its eighth annual charity ball in Manchester – theme: “A Night in Hollywood”. There JMF proudly announced it had at the time raised £1m for good causes, according to its tweet from the event. Clearly, a commendable achievement.
6. In 2019, JMF paid £191.4k in grants to other charities – most to Help for Heroes and NSPCC. Like the 2018 accounts, those for 2019 call Help for Heroes “Help the Heroes” – despite my bringing the error in the 2018 accounts to JMF’s attention. Mills & Reeve, too, incorrectly referred to the military charity this way, as I pointed out to the law firm.
7. At date of publication of both now removed posts the latest accounts were made up to 31 December 2018.

Figure 1. “Contact Us” page: The James Milner Foundation website at 14 October 2019

8. Unlike the 2019 accounts, those for 2018 fail to identify the events company with which JMF works. It’s Entertainment Today (ET), according to the JMF website (screen shot in Figure 1). Also, ET’s phone number is plastered across the top of the charity website “for all enquiries” (screen shot in Figure 2). Meanwhile, the ET website lists JMF as one of its charity clients (screen shot in Figure 3).

Figure 2. Home page: The James Milner Foundation website at 14 October 2019

9. For the avoidance of doubt, ET is a commercial firm, organised to make a profit.

Figure 3. Entertainment Today website at 14 October 2019

10. So who are ET? Companies House records reveal Entertainment Today Limited has a sole director, who’s also the owner – Mr Milner. There he’s shown as sole “person with significant control”. At date of publication of the first post the company secretary was Matthew Buck.
11. Mr Buck was, too, a trustee of JMF until recently.
12. Back to the charity’s 2018 accounts. As I say, ET is mentioned nowhere. Also, these state “there were no related-party transactions in the period”. This is false.
13. Mr Milner, who is vice-captain for Premier League champions Liverpool, is a related party to JMF, even if he isn’t a trustee. The former England international has control, joint control or significant influence over the charity: JMF is his charity and is run in his name, after all. Also, the footballer links to both the JMF website and its Twitter feed in the biography of his personal Twitter account (@jamesmilner). So ET, too, is a related party to the charity, as Mr Milner controls the events company as well. Thus JMF should report its transactions with ET in the accounts.
14. The charity via Mills & Reeve disagreed.
15. Not only do the 2019 accounts now rightly mention ET and Mr Milner’s ownership thereof. But the “related-party transactions” note in the notes to the financial statements discloses the payment made by JMF to ET for 2019 – and also specifies those for 2018 and 2017!
16. Quite a volte-face, then.
17. Here the point is transparency. Without disclosure in the accounts of Mr Milner’s events company and its role in fundraising, the reader simply has no idea of the joint working, let alone the money flows between JMF and ET.
18. There’s no suggestion of inappropriate personal gain by the footballer through his events firm working with the charity. Nor is there any suggestion the payments made by JMF to ET are excessive.
19. Trustee Mr Buck – not ET – was listed as JMF contact at the Charity Commission website until recently (screen shot in Figure 4). As I say, Mr Buck also used to be ET company secretary. This represents a conflict of interest, actual, potential or perceived, for him. As a trustee, Mr Buck must solely act in the best interests of the charity at all times. Further, he’s even closer to Mr Milner and his commercial interests than that: Mr Buck is the footballer’s longtime agent as well. Cosy!

Figure 4. The James Milner Foundation: Charity Commission website at 14 October 2019

20. Mr Buck resigned as ET company secretary on 10 January 2020, according to filings at Companies House.
21. Mr Buck resigned, too, as a JMF trustee on 1 October 2020, the 2019 accounts show. These changes are a welcome improvement in the charity’s governance.

Figure 5. “About Us” page: The James Milner Foundation website at 14 October 2019

22. A more general point about JMF and its trustees. Astonishingly, at date of publication of the second post the charity website failed to identify them! The trustees weren’t shown on the “About Us” page (screen shot in Figure 5). There wasn’t a “Trustees” page, either (screen shot in Figure 6). However, there was a “Patrons” page boasting many sports stars, celebrities and, er, Gordon Taylor, the controversial chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), the much-criticised trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales (screen shot in Figure 7). Oh, at the time the busy Mr Buck worked, too, for the PFA – as “director of player management”!

Figure 6. “Menu”: The James Milner Foundation website at 25 October 2019

23. It’s revealing the JMF website omits the trustees. The omission is further evidence this is Mr Milner’s charity: JMF is organised around the footballer.
24. When I pointed out the omission, JMF via Mills & Reeve countered charities aren’t required to have a website. I never said they were!

Figure 7. “Patrons” page: The James Milner Foundation website at 14 October 2019

25. On 15 January 2020, the Charity Commission added to the woes at the PFA by announcing it has opened a statutory inquiry into the trade union’s charity (the PFA Charity), where PFA boss Mr Taylor is a trustee. The charity regulator has “serious concerns” about the way the PFA Charity is managed and its relationship with the trade union. The commission’s inquiry is ongoing (see both 12 January 2021 posts).
26. JMF trustee Mark Hovell is now shown as contact on the online public register of charities. A trustee since 13 August 2012, Mr Hovell is a solicitor at… Mills & Reeve.
27. In my unanswered response to the law firm’s letter upon publication of my second report, I pointed out the discrepancy between the trustee information at the Charity Commission and the director information at Companies House. (JMF is a charitable company). Thus at the time the Charity Commission showed four trustees: Mr Hovell, Mr Buck, John Hudson and Damaris Treasure. While over at Companies House, there were five directors (trustees): the four listed at the commission, plus Dylan Williams. The same five are listed in the 2018 accounts as well. The discrepancy between the Charity Commission and Companies House only makes the omission of trustee information on the JMF website more unsatisfactory. Which register is accurate, if either?
28. As I say, JMF via Mills & Reeve didn’t address the issues in that email.
29. For the avoidance of doubt, the trustee information at the Charity Commission and the director information at Companies House now agree. At date of publication there are four trustees (directors): Mr Hovell, Marie-Christine Bouchier, Mr Hudson, and Ms Treasure.
30. Both Ms Bouchier and Mr Hudson work for the PFA: the former as “player management executive”, while the latter is “director of corporate social responsibility”.
31. On 12 October 2020, JMF filed a “termination of appointment” document at Companies House for director Mr Williams. This shows a termination date of 17 April 2018!
32. Here there are two problems. First, why did the charity take so long to file Mr Williams’ “termination of appointment” document? Second, why do the 2018 accounts (financial year-end: 31 December), filed at the commission on 10 October 2019, show Mr Williams still as a trustee (director)?
33. The JMF website has been replaced by a simple holding page. This says: “Sorry for the inconvenience. Our website is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance. Thank you for your understanding.” (screen shot in Figure 8) That single-page website has been there for months.

Figure 8. Home page: The James Milner Foundation website at 11 November 2020

34. As I’ve repeatedly made clear, there’s no suggestion anyone has done anything illegal.
35. When asked for comment, Mr Hovell said in an email: “The Foundation notes that you have raised certain issues with the proper regulator for charities, the Charity Commission. We were happy to deal with their enquiries following your referral. The regulator concluded ‘that they reviewed the complaint and closed the case without taking any further action’. If you have any further issues, please do send them through the regulator and we will correspond with them.”
36. There Mr Hovell omits to refer to the “regulatory advice” JMF received from the commission. (The charity regulator told me in writing it had given such to the trustees during its regulatory compliance case.) By reply, I therefore asked Mr Hovell whether the charity disputes that the commission gave it “regulatory advice”.
37. Mr Hovell didn’t respond to that message. In response to a subsequent reminder, though, the trustee wrote: “As explained in my previous email, we will only answer any questions that the Charity Commission has. Therefore, we have nothing further to add.”