Chester reveals six-figure cost of 'unsavoury and unwelcome turn of events'

The six-figure cost of the "unsavoury and unwelcome" events which led to the dismissal of former Chester chief executive Richard Thomas has been detailed in the latest accounts lodged by the racecourse's parent company.

Chester Race Company, which also runs Bangor and holds the long-term operating contract for Musselburgh, said its investigations into the matter had resulted in an exceptional loss of £288,498.

Thomas, who joined Chester as chief executive in 2000 and was regarded as the driving force behind the success of the Chester Race Company, was sacked in May 2021 for misuse of company resources.

A note in the company's 2021 accounts detailed unauthorised transactions totalling £184,143 of which Thomas was the beneficiary. Purchases of items "used to support a personal project" ran to £142,903, while unauthorised use of staff time at Thomas's personal property came to a further £41,240.

An independent investigation of the matter, legal advice and auditing resulted in expenses for the company of £323,352.

However, the company said the result of its legal action against Thomas was an agreement for him to repay it £218,997, reflecting a full recovery of the unauthorised purchases and staff time.

The balance of £34,854 represented a contribution to the company's costs, although the board and its advisors decided not to pursue them in their entirety.

At the time the accounts were signed Thomas had settled £191,974 of the balance owed, with the remaining sum due to be paid by July 19 this year. Chester on Thursday confirmed the balance was paid in full and on time.

Thomas was dismissed without a payment of a two-year notice period and with the forfeit of his 2020 bonus, which the accounts said could have potentially cost the group close to £1 million.

Former Chester Race Company chief executive Richard ThomasCredit: Chester racecourse

Chairman Ian O'Doherty said in the accounts that the impacts of the affair "were not insignificant".

He added: "We have had to work closely with the authorities who have taken a keen interest in the matter; and we have also had the distraction of not having a CEO and needing to complete a search for a new one.

"All these activities involve cost and effort and distract from the primary business of the group.

"All told, a very unsavoury and unwelcome turn of events that has cost us significantly – directly and indirectly."

O'Doherty said that 2021 had been a challenging year for the group, "but the final results have been better than initially anticipated".

In his chair's statement O'Doherty said the pandemic had continued to have a significant detrimental impact on trading last year and had resulted in an adjusted loss before tax of £900,000 compared to a profit of £3.1m in 2020.

Chester was able to hold its flagship May meeting with full crowds this year, although O'Doherty said that hospitality sales and general admission tickets were behind normal expectations.

He added: "We do feel that we have been hurt by costs of living impacting upon consumer demand.

"If we can now put the Covid restrictions behind us, the board is cautiously optimistic for 2022."

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