Crucial Academy Limited, previously owned by Paul Careless, the director of London Capital & Finance‘s marketing agent Surge Financial, is to be sold to its chief executive, former Royal Marine Neil Williams.
The deal is expected to conclude this weekend. The consideration was not disclosed.
According to the Daily Mail:
Insiders said Careless has sold the firm to management because his involvement was damaging its work.
A source close to 43-year-old Careless said yesterday: ‘Paul decided to sell because he felt he was becoming a distraction to the company.
‘He did not want to get in the way of the great work being done at Crucial, and wishes the firm well for the future.’
Johnny Mercer remains a non-executive director of Crucial Academy, according to his register of interests. He is paid £85,000 a year for 20 hours’ work a month.
Mercer is tipped by some as a future Prime Minister and has previously hit back vehemently at any link between the collapse of LCF and his £354-an-hour gig.
“This effort to smear me by some loose connection to a company that I have never met, done business with or even heard of before its collapse is besmirching the good name of an exciting project at Crucial Academy run by good people doing good things.”
While other MPs have been busy weighing in on the London Capital & Finance scandal, many calling on the Treasury to investigate LCF and the Financial Conduct Authority’s role, Mercer has kept his counsel. His (very active) Twitter feed contains no mention of LCF or Surge at time of writing, preferring to focus on veterans’ issues and Brexit.
It remains to be seen whether Crucial will fully cut its ties with Surge by moving out of the Surge group’s offices at 19a Portland Street, Brighton.
