the times | Thursday January 13 2022 47Business
Administrators at Arena Television are
looking into the possible role of a sup-
plier in an alleged scam at the outside
broadcaster, which is accused of bor-
rowing £280 million against thousands
of non-existent assets.
Arena’s relationship with Sentinel
Broadcast, a supplier of audiovisual
equipment based in Hook, Hampshire,
is a key line of inquiry for the insolvency
practitioners, The Times understands.
Arena, whose directors’ whereabouts
are unknown, collapsed into insol-
vency in November, two days after
Richard Yeowart, its founder and
owner, suddenly ordered it to cease
trading after a concern was raised that
an asset linked to a loan may not exist.
Yeowart, 54, and Robert Hopkinson,
41, a co-director, are said to have
absconded and administrators from
Kroll, the consulting firm, have esti-
mated that 55 lenders are owed
£282 million relating to debts ostensibly
secured against broadcasting assets.
Insolvency practitioners allege that
46 lenders, owed a combined £182 mil-
lion, “do not have recourse to any
assets” underlying their lending, with a Dolly Parton on stage at Glastonbury, a festival serviced by Arena TelevisionFocus on supplier
as Arena TV ‘scam’
investigation widens
shortfall of “several thousand assets”,
resulting in embarrassment for high
street banks and specialist lenders.
Sentinel Broadcast was a “preferred”
supplier for Arena, the term for a sup-
plier with a trusted relationship with a
commercial customer. It is understood
that the veracity of serial numbers
related to supposed assets ostensibly
supplied by Sentinel is being examined.
When asked about the company’s
relationship with Arena, Paul Froom,
47, director of Sentinel, said: “I don’t
really have a comment at the minute.”
He did not respond to an invitation to
comment on whether Sentinel had any
role in the alleged asset shortfall.
Arena was incorporated in 1988 and
worked on sports and events coverage,
including the European football
championship for ITV Sport and FA
Cup coverage for the BBC.
The alleged fraud is understood to
have gone undetected for a long time as
Arena kept up with loan repayments. It
was uncovered when a manufacturer
told a lender’s agent that a serial
number for leased equipment did not
exist.
The use of broadcast assets in an
alleged scam complicates matters forJames HurleyGARY WOLSTENHOLME/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES
lenders as they are rarely at the
borrower’s headquarters for checks. If
an equipment supplier or vendor
played a role in the alleged scam, it
could make it harder for lenders to
detect.
Ian Gough-Williams, a director at
Thameside TV, an occasional supplier
to Sentinel where Arena was the end
user, said he was surprised at questions
over Sentinel’s role in the case.
“We have only ever had a profes-
sional relationship with Sentinel,
where we were paid as per our invoice
terms,” he said.
Administrators, who have launched
a claim for breach of fiduciary duty
against Yeowart and Hopkinson, didnot respond to an invitation to com-
ment. The Serious Fraud Office has
refused to comment on suggestions
that it may launch an inquiry.
The Financial Conduct Authority is
under pressure to look into apparent
due diligence failures by lenders.
These include Shawbrook, owed
£34.6 million, HSBC, owed £29.5 mil-
lion, Lombard, owed £24.2 million, and
ABN Amro, owed £22.6 million.
Alongside high street banks such as
Lloyds, scores of non-bank and
boutique lenders are also caught up in
the alleged scam.More than 70 staff of
Arena are owed almost £1.3 million in
unpaid wages.£282m
Estimated amount owed to 55
lenders by Arena Television
Source: KrollLegal Notices