Colin Bell, 69, of Hamilton Close, Bury, has been banned from being involved in the promotion, formation, or management of a company until June 2033 following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.
Mr Bell was a director of Manchester Collegiate Education Trust (MCET) between April 2019 and August 2023.
The Insolvency Service found that the trust failed to comply with obligations under the Pensions Act 2008 by not paying employee pension contributions deducted from staff wages, together with matching employer contributions, into a pension scheme.
Investigators found that in February 2016 a pension scheme administrator informed MCET that its application to join the scheme had not been accepted.
However, records showed that between April 2019 and August 2023 pension deductions continued to be taken from three employees’ wages, despite the trust not being enrolled in the scheme.
Corresponding employer contributions recorded on payroll systems were also not paid into any pension arrangement.
The Insolvency Service said correspondence showed Mr Bell was aware that MCET had not been accepted into the pension scheme, but deductions continued to be made from employees’ salaries.
According to the investigation, a total of £30,139.50 was deducted from the wages of three employees, while payroll records showed a further £42,292.50 in employer contributions should have been paid on their behalf.
None of the £72,432 in contributions was paid into a pension fund, and the money was not ringfenced from the trust’s general trading funds.
One employee had £17,956.12 deducted from their wages between April 2019 and August 2023, while employer contributions of £22,535.54 should also have been paid.
The employee lost pension contributions worth £40,491.66.
A second employee had £9,077.98 deducted from their wages between September 2019 and August 2023, alongside £14,721.08 in employer contributions that should have been paid, resulting in lost pension contributions of £23,799.06.
A third employee had £3,105.40 deducted from wages between September 2019 and December 2020, while employer contributions of £5,035.88 were recorded but not paid, leading to pension losses of £8,141.28.
The Insolvency Service said it was impossible to calculate any additional losses caused by the lack of investment growth because the workers had not been enrolled in a pension fund.
Due to missing records from before April 2019, investigators said it was not possible to determine whether other employees also had pension deductions taken from wages that were never paid into a pension scheme.
MCET stopped trading in August 2023 and entered liquidation on March 18, 2024, without having paid at least £72,432 in pension contributions relating to the three employees.
At the time, it served primarily as the official educational proprietor for Harpurhey Alternative Provision School in Manchester and was headquartered in Altrincham.
No compensatory payments were made to the affected workers.
Mr Bell’s disqualification began on June 22, 2026, and will remain in force for seven years.
During that period, he cannot act as a director of a limited company or be involved in its management without court permission.