THE DIRECTOR of a popular Aberystwyth not-for-profit upcycling business has said she is “happy and relieved” after Court of Appeal judges rejected an application to appeal a judgment against two former directors who transferred the building out of the business’ ownership.

In July last year, the Cambrian News reported how two former directors of CRAFT had been found in “breach of their duties” and to have acted “unreasonably” by transferring ownership of the store’s grant-funded premises into a pension scheme to benefit themselves.

The CRAFT premises at Aberystwyth Railway Station was transformed in 2006 using funding from public bodies, such as the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) and the local authority.

The shop sells second-hand furniture and other domestic items and donates goods to charities to help furnish homes for vulnerable people.

A court last year heard how, in 2012, the two sole directors at the time, Derek Clifford Pope and Allison Cann, transferred the freehold of the property, which was valued at the time at £875,000, into a SIPP pension scheme and then leased it back to the company, at an eventual rent of £60,000 per year.

They transferred the freehold in tranches, over a period of about three years, rather than ten years originally envisaged, “for their own tax advantage,” the court heard.

Ms Cann later resigned from her post in December 2015 and Mr Pope in March 2016.

Despite the judgment, Mr Pope launched an application to appeal the judgment, which was heard by the Court of Appeal in November, with the judgement released this week which dismissed the application.

It was the second attempted appeal after a first was rejected last year.

Sharon Thomas, the Director of CRAFT, who said that the initial judgment in July was a “fantastic victory” for the business which would “secure the future” of CRAFT, said this week that it has been a “long wait”, but “finally CRAFT has justice.”

“I’m so happy and relieved,” she said.

“We are now back to where we were last June, and preparing for the relief hearing to have the property signed back to CRAFT.”

Sharon also highlighted the role of this newspaper in “starting the whole ball rolling” on the long-running saga after it was brought to light by the Cambrian News back in 2014.

Court of Appeal judges noted that the “transfer of the property, the leaseback and pension payments came to the attention of the local press and adverse articles appeared in the papers.”

The transfer of ownership left the new directors having to find cash to fund the rent - “seriously impacting” how the business could operate.

“This meant that CRAFT could not take steps which we had previously taken to assist those who were most in need,” Sharon added.

The claim against the former directors and the response to the subsequent appeals were led by Hugh James solicitors of Cardiff on behalf of CRAFT.

The first application for appeal, in August last year, was dismissed with the judgment noting that “the sums which the defendants awarded themselves were not proper, reasonable or in good faith.”

A stay of proceedings was granted until the outcome of the latest application, now bringing the saga to an end.