BL-2022-002117 - [2025] EWHC 2794 (Ch)

On 9 December 2016, Mike Keoghan (Deputy CEO of the Institute for Apprenticeships, of which Sir Peter was CEO) emailed Sir Peter with the subject ‘how’s yer blood pressure?’ informing him of six-figure sums which Peter Marples and Ms McEvoy-Robinson had taken out of 3AAA, other profit they had made on separate business deals, profit 3AAA had made, and that 3AAA described itself as ‘highly cash generative’. Mr Keoghan ended his message sarcastically ; ‘Which is lovely for them’. Sir Peter replied ‘My blood pressure is much higher now. Trilantic have renewed their interest in 3AAA. Not surprising when it is so cash generative’.

Sir Peter’s evidence on this issue was unsatisfactory. In cross-examination he claimed to have no idea why Mr Keoghan was interested in 3AAA’s accounts or why he was telling Sir Peter about them and no memory of having told Mr Keoghan anything about 3AAA. He also denied that he had been agitated at seeing the profit made by Peter Marples and Ms McEvoy-Robinson and dismissed the references to his blood pressure as “banter”. He claimed to recall his concern being that he might have been misled at the time of the KPMG investigation, regarding Peter Marples’ inability to put more money into the business to tide it over while the SFA payments were suspended. I do not accept any of those explanations. It is clear from the emails that Mr Keoghan and Sir Peter have had conversations such that Mr Keoghan knew that the information about large profits being made by the owners of 3AAA would agitate Sir Peter, and coupled with the revived interest of Trilantic, it clearly did agitate Sir Peter.

Sir Peter then repeated the content of this message to Ms Forton, asking for her thoughts without forwarding the email or its source. Ms Forton researched the answers and replied to Sir Peter, ‘As you know it is common practice for shareholders to take dividends. To the best of my knowledge dividends taken by 3a directors have not affected the viability of the business and their financial health position has already met our FHA’.

Ms Forton asked these questions of Mr Simm in the SFA Flexible Resourcing Team, who replied, ‘there were no dividends paid in any of the 3 years you asked me about […] and for each year the resulting grade in a normal assessment would have been “Outstanding”’. Ms Forton passed this onto Sir Peter on 12 December 2016 and repeated her recommendation, ‘there is nothing to suggest that this change of ownership request should not be agreed’. She said that the case had been reviewed by colleagues in various units of the SFA in reaching this recommendation.