A NEAR decade long battle to secure the future of an Aberystwyth’s not-for-profit company’s building looks to have finally come to an end after the Court of Appeal refused to re-hear the case of two former directors who were found in “breach of their duties” and to have acted “unreasonably” by transferring ownership of the store’s grant-funded premises into a personal pension scheme.

The Craft premises at Aberystwyth Railway Station was transformed in 2006 using funding from public bodies including the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) and Ceredigion County Council.

In 2021, Cardiff Civil Court heard how, in 2012, the two sole directors at the time, Derek Clifford Pope and Allison Cann, transferred the freehold of the property - valued at the time at £875,000 - into a SIPP personal pension scheme and then leased it back to the company at an eventual rent of £60,000 a year.

They transferred the freehold in tranches, over a period of around three years, rather than 10 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.

In his court ruling, the Judge, His Honour Judge Jarman QC, said the two former directors had become “beguiled” by the possibilities of ownership of the asset and “each took their eyes off the interests of the company and focussed instead on their own interests.”

“Mr Pope and Ms Cann have derived economic benefit from the transfer of the property which amounts to conversion of it to their own use,” Judge Jarman found in his ruling.

Mr Pope appealed the ruling, also applying for a stay on returning the building to the company, to the Court of Appeal’s civil division, but on the 22 February, judges ruled that the case would not be heard at appeal.

“The appeal would have no real prospect of success, there is no other compelling reason for this court to hear it, and the application for a stay falls with the refusal of permission to appeal,” the Court ruled.

Sharon Thomas, the current director of Craft, said the ruling of the Court of Appeal means that “finally we believe justice has been served and Craft will get the property back very soon.”

On the original court ruling by Judge Jarman, Sharon said that it was a “huge relief”.

“The actions of Derek Pope and Allison Cann in allowing Station Buildings to be transferred out of Craft’s ownership has caused the business a huge detriment over the years,” she said.

“Not only was Station Buildings taken from the company’s ownership, but we also had to find £60,000 per year to fund the rent.”

“This meant that Craft could not take steps which we had previously taken to assist those who were most in need.

“This court ruling means that the future of Craft is secure and we can get back to focusing on what we do best, providing a service for the community to reduce, re-use and re-enjoy.”