PROBE INTO MERSEYTRAVEL'S £1.7m BEATLES BLACK HOLE

The Beatles Story museum at Albert Dock, Liverpool

An investigation is under way into why £2m of Merseyside taxpayers’ money was spent on Beatles memorabilia that turned out to be worth only £300,000.

The ECHO can reveal that items, including a pair of John Lennon’s glasses and George Harrison’s first guitar, bought by Merseytravel in 2008, have been revalued and found to be worth only £300,000 – £1.7m less than the original valuation.

And the ECHO has learned that lawyers for the passenger transport authority – which bought The Beatles Story museum in the Capital of Culture year – had raised concerns over the valuation at the time.

They warned of a potential “conflict of interest” because the person who valued the items had previously been a fellow company director of the person selling the memorabilia.

Just the glasses and the guitar alone had in the past been said by former Beatles Story bosses to be worth £1m and £500,000 respectively.

Orange tinted glasses worn by John Lennon

 

According to documents seen by the ECHO, this information does not seem to have been passed on to councillors sitting on the board of Merseytravel and officers told the lawyers to press on using the same valuer and proceed with the buy-up.

The papers state that “both issues represent a serious failure in corporate governance”.

The facts emerged during a root and branch investigation audit of the running of Merseytravel, which was instigated by the new administration that took over at the end of the tenure of former chief executive Neil Scales and chairman Mark Dowd.

Last night current Merseytravel chairman Liam Robinson said the findings were a reflection of “where Merseytravel was and not where it is now”.

It is claimed the wire-rimmed glasses were worn by Lennon during the penning of Imagine, probably his most famous post-Beatles song, circa 1970. Harrison’s guitar, a brown six-string acoustic, was the one he learned to play on.

Other items in the cache of memorabilia include studio notes written by the Fab Four’s producer George Martin, believed to relate to the recording of 1965’s In My Life from the Rubber Soul album.

The items were all purchased when The Beatles Story museum was bought by Merseytravel for £8m from a group believed to be London-based investors.

George Harrison's first guitar is brought into the Beatles Story

 

Merseytravel refused to disclose which individual had owned the 11 memorabilia items.

Former managing director Jerry Goldman told the ECHO: “All I can tell you that I think is right for me to tell you is that there did not seem to be any discomfort from the Merseytravel lawyers at the time.

“I did not see any records, all I witnessed was a conversation.”

Auditors for Merseytravel have recommended “a full investigation into the Beatles Memorabilia valuation” and advised the authority to take “appropriate action”.

Merseytravel chairman Cllr Robinson said: “We will look to take action if we establish that we were let down by those we were relying on at the time and that the interests of the taxpayer were not well served in the original negotiation.

“It is important to note that The Beatles Story is unaffected by this revaluation.

“It remains a profitable, first-class visitor attraction. It has had a bumper summer with visitor numbers up 8% on the same point last year.

“From initial enquiries it does appear that elements of due process were not followed. This could not happen now. Our new governance and scrutiny processes would not allow it.

“It is a reflection of where Merseytravel was and not where it is now.”