Back in 2014, the annual report of the Fred and Maureen Done Charitable Trust reported that £290,000 had been donated towards the improvement of the Old Warke Dam in Worsley...
"The work involves dredging of the dam to allow better views, removal of a number trees and debris from Kempnough Brook to increase the flow of water and the creation of a new viewing platform and jetty to provide almost a bird's eye view" the report stated "This project will help towards improving Old Warke Dam and the surrounding woodland and will attract a lot more visitors to the area."
This, and a £5,000 donation to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign plus £200 to artist Mary McHugh, were the only donations that year from £303,600 held by the charity and donated by Fred Done.
The annual report failed to mention that Fred and his late wife, Maureen, owned the grand 19th Century mansion, The Aviary, which overlooks the Dam.
The Trust later received £75,000 gift aid on Fred's £300,000 original donation and loaned £75,288 to Golden Tree Financial Services, within which Fred Done was a director and majority shareholder along with Maureen and brother Peter.
The charity's aims are "for the public benefit, such charitable purposes as the trustees shall determine in their absolute discretion from time to time". A Betfred spokesman explained that the loan enabled the charity to earn a high rate of interest which could then be donated to 'worthy charitable causes'.
The latest issue of Private Eye reports that the Charity Commission opened a regulatory compliance case into the Trust and the trustees' involvement in the charity's spending. At the time, as well as Fred Done, the other trustees were his daughter Lea Anne, brother Peter Done and accountant Tim Maher.
"We engaged with the trustees, concluding that trustee involvement in the decision to approve the charity's financial support to the Old Warke Dam represented a conflict of interest" the Commission told the Eye "We also considered that any conflicted trustee should have removed themselves from the decision to loan charitable funds to a private company."
The Charity Commission then directed the Trust to appoint 'non-conflicted trustees'. The latest details for the Fred and Maureen Done Charitable Trust for the year ending 31st March 2018 show three trustees on its board – Fred Done, Lea Anne Done-Jackson and Peter Done – with income of £500, spending £5,300.
The Eye also reports that the Done brothers, estimated wealth £1.25billion, also donated £1million from their Betfred empire towards a brain scanner for the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.
This is not the first time Fred Done has been involved in a media scandal. See previous Salford Star articles...
14 Companies With Vested Interests in Salford Development Funded Salford City Mayor Trip To South of France – click here
Fred Done Wealth Rises £20million As He Gets £22million Public Subsidy – click here
Fred Done Wins Salford Star Feed The Rich Award – click here
Fred Done publicly Subsidised Flats Marketed to Hong King Investors – click here
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