0:00:05 > 0:00:07This landscape should be alive
0:00:07 > 0:00:12with the sound of racing engines and roaring crowds.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15The promise was for thousands of jobs to be created
0:00:15 > 0:00:18with the Circuit of Wales.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22Promises don't pay mortgages or keep a roof over you.
0:00:22 > 0:00:27Without Circuit of Wales, it will be a case of,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29last person to leave, please shut the lights out.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31Welsh government has spent millions of our money on this.
0:00:31 > 0:00:33Tonight, questions are being asked about
0:00:33 > 0:00:34where some of that money was spent.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37I made some simple queries, and what I've discovered
0:00:37 > 0:00:39absolutely horrifies me.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42A former insider questions the promises that were made.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45I think people need to wake up and smell the coffee,
0:00:45 > 0:00:53because it took me four and a bit years to do so.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Investment is still needed to get the circuit up and running.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58But with enquiries into the use of public money underway,
0:00:58 > 0:01:01we talk to the man behind the dream, and ask, can he deliver?
0:01:01 > 0:01:06People have invested lots of hope, faith, dreams and ambition,
0:01:06 > 0:01:09and so far they have come to nothing.
0:01:25 > 0:01:32They're praying for better times in Ebbw Vale.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37And for the Circuit of Wales.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41We want this for the community, and we are also saying to the people
0:01:41 > 0:01:43with the vision to do this, we are praying for you.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48We are supporting you. We are on your side in this.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54We are in the third generation of unemployment.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58Youngsters with no hope of a job, they don t see any hope.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01There is nothing else on the horizon.
0:02:01 > 0:02:05We have seen other factories come and go, shops close,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08they come for five minutes and disappear elsewhere.
0:02:08 > 0:02:14There is nothing else and that is why I am supporting it.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18There is no Plan B.
0:02:27 > 0:02:34This is their promised land.
0:02:34 > 0:02:38We were told that by now there would be
0:02:38 > 0:02:41a state of the art race circuit, with miles of tarmac, concrete,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43and thousands of bringing the circuit to life.
0:02:43 > 0:02:48Instead...well.
0:02:48 > 0:02:56Welsh Government has put ?9 million of our money on this scheme so far,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59in the belief that if they did, then private investors
0:02:59 > 0:03:01would buy in, too.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03But will the public be left picking up the bill
0:03:03 > 0:03:10if this turns out to be nothing more than an expensive dream?
0:03:13 > 0:03:17Michael Carrick is the man behind the dream.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21We first started investigating his promises two years ago.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Can you look me in the eye right now and say,
0:03:24 > 0:03:29yes, you are definitely going to deliver?
0:03:29 > 0:03:31We have to deliver, we absolutely have to deliver.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36If we fail to do that, it is an absolute disaster.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38And failure wasn't an option according to his team,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41driving the public relations message to schools at the time.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43No longer will you have to leave Blaenau Gwent
0:03:43 > 0:03:46to find a job and an opportunity, they will exist on your doorstep.
0:03:46 > 0:03:50They said this would be the jewel in the crown.
0:03:50 > 0:03:55The circuit was going to host the world famous Moto GP.
0:03:55 > 0:04:00We are starting to build it this year that s how close it is.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02By September next year, we could have our first races
0:04:02 > 0:04:05taking place up the road from here.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08Well, he got that wrong.
0:04:10 > 0:04:16Two years on, this is where that race is still being held.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19The fans who are camped here should be going through the turn styles
0:04:19 > 0:04:24in Ebbw Vale to see the world famous Moto GP event.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28Instead, they are here at this campsite at Silverstone,
0:04:28 > 0:04:33the home of British motor racing, for yet another year.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37There's no shortage of enthusiasm here for the Circuit of Wales.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42We were expecting to be there two year plan to build then this
0:04:43 > 0:04:47We were expecting to be there two year plan to build then this
0:04:47 > 0:04:48year to be there very gutting for ourselves.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50Of course, it would get the support.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51Wales is a beautiful country.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55Let's have it, let's do it, come on.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58The Circuit of Wales is paying millions of pounds a year
0:04:58 > 0:05:02to Spanish company Dorna to host Moto GP in the UK.
0:05:02 > 0:05:06They are also having to pay Silverstone to run it
0:05:06 > 0:05:09because the Circuit of Wales is still on the drawing board.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11But why is it taking so long to start building?
0:05:11 > 0:05:14The answer is money.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19The estimated costs have now risen from ?350 million to ?425 million.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24But two years ago Mr Carrick said he had investors lined up.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Though he wouldn t say who they were.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31How much is promised to you from independent investors?
0:05:31 > 0:05:33More than we need.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35More than you need?
0:05:35 > 0:05:38We need ?200 million from our investors.
0:05:38 > 0:05:41We have agreements, and they are taking their agreements
0:05:41 > 0:05:42through their processes.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46But to date, that money still hasn t appeared.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49So two years on, what does Michael Carrick have to say
0:05:49 > 0:05:54about the promises he made?
0:05:54 > 0:05:57In March of 2014, you said you had investors
0:05:57 > 0:05:59In March of 2014, you said you had investors
0:05:59 > 0:06:01and money lined up.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Where did it go?
0:06:05 > 0:06:11Well, it s got to come when you have got a project to be invested in
0:06:11 > 0:06:14and at that time, we didn't envisage having a public inquiry
0:06:14 > 0:06:16or two and half years of engagement.
0:06:16 > 0:06:25Investors would have to know there had there to be a public
0:06:25 > 0:06:28inquiry, they know how these things work.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30This was a deregistration process of common land and with uncertainty
0:06:30 > 0:06:33you have to actually change your position and we changed it.
0:06:33 > 0:06:34"We changed our position."
0:06:34 > 0:06:35What does "change your position" mean?
0:06:35 > 0:06:38It means we chose we wanted to deliver the project
0:06:38 > 0:06:41in a different way and reason we chose it to do it in a different
0:06:41 > 0:06:45way was to attract a different type of investor that was longer term
0:06:45 > 0:06:46and better for our project.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48David Bates worked with Michael Carrick from 2012 to find
0:06:48 > 0:06:50investors for a number of developments
0:06:50 > 0:06:51including the circuit.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Did he know where the ?200 million was coming from?
0:06:54 > 0:07:00We didn't have private capital to best of my knowledge in 2014.
0:07:00 > 0:07:08It would have been unlikely we had private capital it in March 2014.
0:07:08 > 0:07:15It was about May-June 2014 that we agreed
0:07:15 > 0:07:20a document called the PPM.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22For people who want to invest, this is document you need
0:07:22 > 0:07:27to read because it tells you what you are investing in.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30You feel you were in a position to know whether there was private
0:07:30 > 0:07:31investment for this scheme.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35Absolutely.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37It would have been a quantum step forward
0:07:37 > 0:07:44and no-one was going to keep that secret.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47We understand there was a PPM document, the private placement
0:07:47 > 0:07:50memorandum document, to give prospective investors wasn't
0:07:50 > 0:07:52issued until a few months after we spoke.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54Well, it is entirely different, Tim.
0:07:54 > 0:08:00A PPM document is a final legal contractual document that
0:08:00 > 0:08:03investors subscribe.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05It doesn't mean you have conversations before
0:08:05 > 0:08:06for years before...
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Conversations are one thing actually having the money
0:08:08 > 0:08:09is something, isn't it?
0:08:09 > 0:08:11Well, actually having the planning is something else, isn't it.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Until you have the planning, the deregistration, the detailed
0:08:13 > 0:08:16construction documentation, you can't go forward.
0:08:16 > 0:08:22The company has continued to rally support.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24At this summer's eisteddfod their message was that the circuit
0:08:24 > 0:08:27is still very much on track.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29And in September, it was the same in Ebbw Vale.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33I think it would be fantastic idea and it should the jobs.
0:08:33 > 0:08:43There's a college down the road, there's got to be other technology
0:08:51 > 0:08:57This is going to be a typical ghost town without Circuit of Wales,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00it will be a case of last person to leave, please
0:09:00 > 0:09:03shut the lights out.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06We need jobs and in this area and if this brings jobs, brilliant!
0:09:06 > 0:09:08But so far they haven't ? and that's the problem.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Two years ago we filmed plumbing student John Daniels
0:09:10 > 0:09:11at the local college.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15He asked the company's recruiter for a job.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17I know it sounds like begging but I am that desperate
0:09:17 > 0:09:19to get the opportunity.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22There's nothing wrong in wanting a job - never apologise
0:09:22 > 0:09:24for being keen to work.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30Thank you, I look forward to seeing you on the track maybe.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35John is still waiting for that call.
0:09:35 > 0:09:45You can't live on hope.
0:09:52 > 0:10:02You can't wake up every day thinking that phone's going to ring
0:10:02 > 0:10:04because they told you it was going to
0:10:04 > 0:10:06ring cos it don't.
0:10:06 > 0:10:07All John's had are temporary jobs.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10He's one of thousands who hoped to be working on the circuit by now.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12I'm going over the job centre.
0:10:12 > 0:10:13I'm phoning the agency.
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Happening?
0:10:14 > 0:10:15Oh, we haven't heard nothing yet.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18But it is definitely happening at the end of the month now.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Promises don't pay mortgages or keep a roof over you.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23A public inquiry held up progress for a year.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25But there has been nearly a year of further delays
0:10:25 > 0:10:27because the company can't find enough private investment.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Don't say nothing till you are sure it's going ahead,
0:10:29 > 0:10:31don't fill everyone with hope.
0:10:31 > 0:10:38To help bring in big money and create confidence among
0:10:38 > 0:10:47among the private sector, Michael Carrick convinced Welsh
0:10:47 > 0:10:49government to award his company a ?2 million development
0:10:49 > 0:10:51grant and to underwrite a ?7.35 million bank loan.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Welsh government has told us it agreed to give the money knowing
0:10:54 > 0:10:57that the company did not have confirmed investors on board.
0:10:57 > 0:11:06So why did it decide to take the risk?
0:11:06 > 0:11:09Prof Gerald Holtham is an economist who has had a career in the city
0:11:09 > 0:11:11and worked as an advisor to Welsh government.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15In order to commit that money when you haven't got any other
0:11:15 > 0:11:24investors, you have to believe it has got a good chance of flying
0:11:24 > 0:11:27of working, being viable, and to form that view
0:11:27 > 0:11:30you have to do what's known in the trade as due diligence,
0:11:30 > 0:11:35you have to do your market research
0:11:35 > 0:11:36to satisfy yourself, that yes, this could work.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Because they had no other investors to rely on they had to go out
0:11:40 > 0:11:42and do it themselves.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44So this opens up the role of Welsh Government in this whole
0:11:44 > 0:11:46process to closer scrutiny, does it?
0:11:46 > 0:11:50It's always a good question - what procedures do you follow
0:11:50 > 0:11:53in that sort of situation?
0:11:53 > 0:12:00And they ought to be able to answer that question.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04Does ?9.3 million seem like a lot of money?
0:12:04 > 0:12:07Yes, for a pre-investment, it seems like a lot of money.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10Welsh government says the public money it's given is in line
0:12:10 > 0:12:13with its processes and procedures.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18And it's due diligence reports - prepared by external advisors
0:12:18 > 0:12:20are due to be released.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23But are being reviewed to check if any parts remain
0:12:23 > 0:12:24commercially confidential.
0:12:24 > 0:12:32Michael Carrick and his company have always been confident
0:12:32 > 0:12:35the development will go ahead and earlier this year, a potential
0:12:35 > 0:12:37investor in the form of insurance giant AVIVA was revealed.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Which was said to be prepared to back the scheme on the condition
0:12:40 > 0:12:48that Welsh government was prepared to underwrite the whole deal.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52But the economy minister at the time came back with a very clear no.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57You've got to look at the risk we are now being asked to undertake.
0:12:57 > 0:13:05When we started to talk about this project we knew there'd been private
0:13:05 > 0:13:07sector investment, it went from talking
0:13:07 > 0:13:09about ?35m weeks ago to over ?350m as a guarantee,
0:13:09 > 0:13:11it's a 100% guarantee.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14We wanted to support this project, we thought it would have been good
0:13:14 > 0:13:22but I'm not entitled to take the risk with that type of money
0:13:22 > 0:13:26and I don't think the public would expect me to take that risk.
0:13:26 > 0:13:28At the time, David Bates was at Michael Carrick's company
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Aventa Capital Partners which looks for investors.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33He says the news came as a shock because Michael Carrick had
0:13:33 > 0:13:34told him it was a done deal.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36So Michael Carrick told you?
0:13:36 > 0:13:40Yes, Welsh government had agreed a 100% guarantee.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42So he was convincing in that, and sure about that?
0:13:42 > 0:13:43Yeah.
0:13:43 > 0:13:44As far as you were concerned?
0:13:44 > 0:13:53Absolutely.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57At that point, when she said what she said, that was a light bulb
0:13:57 > 0:13:59moment when you suddenly realise the emperor doesn't have any
0:13:59 > 0:14:01clothes, that it's not what you always thought
0:14:01 > 0:14:08it was going to be.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11That was mentally the end of me and Aventa because I felt I'd been
0:14:11 > 0:14:13led up garden path to be honest.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Did the Welsh Government ever tell you they were willing
0:14:15 > 0:14:19to underwrite the deal by 100%?
0:14:19 > 0:14:22Because we understood you told people, including colleagues,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24that that deal was done.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27Why say that?
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Well, I think we were all moving towards a deal
0:14:29 > 0:14:31we felt was deliverable.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34All the delivery partners including our financing partners,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38investors, our contractors, felt we had a solution and even
0:14:38 > 0:14:42the government thought we had a solution that was deliverable.
0:14:42 > 0:14:45The Welsh Government told us it has never offered the company a 100%
0:14:45 > 0:14:51guarantee and that the previous Minister made that clear.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55The future of this whole development and the community below was suddenly
0:14:55 > 0:14:58thrown into jeopardy.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Unless Michael Carrick could find enough new private investors,
0:15:02 > 0:15:08the Circuit would remain just a field of dreams.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13The company had already spent the ?9 million of grant and loan it
0:15:13 > 0:15:15had from the public purse.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20So questions began emerging about what we had to show for it.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Hello, can I speak to David Davies, please?
0:15:23 > 0:15:26The MP who's Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select committee
0:15:26 > 0:15:31had been asked by Michael Carrick to promote the Circuit.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34What he has been doing all along is go around prominent people
0:15:34 > 0:15:37in Wales, politicians, and get them all to say this
0:15:37 > 0:15:40is a fantastic project, Welsh Government go ahead and sort
0:15:40 > 0:15:47this out and make project happen.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49David Davies began asking questions about how public money
0:15:49 > 0:15:53was being spent and the relationship between Mr Carrick's private company
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Aventa - and the firm behind the Circuit, the Heads
0:15:55 > 0:15:58of the Valleys Development Company, which was being propped
0:15:58 > 0:16:01up by public money.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06I made some simple queries into this which is the right thing to do
0:16:06 > 0:16:08before giving support for something and what I have discovered
0:16:08 > 0:16:12absolutely horrifies me.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15It emerged that Aventa has been paid nearly ?1 million to find investors
0:16:15 > 0:16:17for the Circuit.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19We asked David Bates if that was something
0:16:19 > 0:16:21he was aware of?
0:16:21 > 0:16:24Yes, Aventa charged fees to the Heads of Valleys for work it
0:16:24 > 0:16:28did for Heads of the Valleys.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32It had a commercial agreement to do so.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36The largest shareholder in Heads of the Valleys Development Company
0:16:36 > 0:16:41and he owns Aventa so he was charging himself.
0:16:41 > 0:16:48In
0:16:48 > 0:16:50Yes, it came from one company controlled by Michael to another
0:16:50 > 0:16:51company controlled by Michael.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54But not everyone who's worked on the scheme has been paid.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56There's been such excitement and belief in the Circuit of Wales,
0:16:56 > 0:17:00that a number of companies have been prepared to work on the project
0:17:00 > 0:17:09without being paid so far.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20Some are doing it "at risk" - in other words, if the project
0:17:20 > 0:17:22doesn't work they won't get paid.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25And we have discovered that the value of that work so far
0:17:25 > 0:17:26is around ?23 million.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28David Bates is one of those and he left the project
0:17:28 > 0:17:31in the summer.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34Everyone who's been involved in this project has got lot riding on this.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36There's lots of personal financial pain if this project
0:17:36 > 0:17:37doesn't go ahead, yes.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39We understand it is around ?23 million worth of support
0:17:39 > 0:17:41which is being done by companies at risk -
0:17:41 > 0:17:44what happens to their money if this is not built?
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Well, we are hoping it will get built, we are hoping
0:17:46 > 0:17:47the structure goes forward.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51I think we are all confident it will get built but it is
0:17:51 > 0:17:55a risk of projects that sometimes they don't work.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59So what about Michael Carrick's company Aventa?
0:17:59 > 0:18:02Aventa were not doing it on an at risk basis.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05They were paid ?967,000 and yet they were the company responsible
0:18:05 > 0:18:08for raising the finance so if there was any company that
0:18:08 > 0:18:13should have been willing to say this project is fine, this
0:18:13 > 0:18:16is going to go ahead, we are quite relaxed about it,
0:18:16 > 0:18:21we are prepared to wait till it does and we get paid, is Aventa.
0:18:21 > 0:18:24Why did you transfer nearly ?1 million from Heads
0:18:24 > 0:18:26of the Valleys Development Company to Aventa, and what was that
0:18:26 > 0:18:28money used for?
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Well, we haven't transferred it, it's been paid for services,
0:18:31 > 0:18:34as have been a number of services to the Heads of the Valleys
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Development Company.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38So Heads of the Valleys has 30-odd relationships with different private
0:18:38 > 0:18:41companies and they get paid for services.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Aventa is one of those companies.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45What did you use the money for?
0:18:45 > 0:18:46In Aventa, or Heads of the Valleys?
0:18:46 > 0:18:48In Aventa.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Aventa's a private company.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52You're the major shareholder of both.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Well, I'm the only shareholder of Aventa.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58You are, so what did you use the ?1 million for in Aventa?
0:18:58 > 0:19:00How did that benefit the public of Wales?
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Tim, Aventa is a private company.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05It's been paid for services.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07Mr Carrick says Aventa received its income from a variety
0:19:07 > 0:19:11of sources but it has liabilities.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14There's a number of staff haven't been paid, including myself,
0:19:14 > 0:19:17including operation team, they're prepared to continue...
0:19:17 > 0:19:20And this is a successful company Well, no, cos actually we expected
0:19:20 > 0:19:25to close the project at the beginning this year.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27When the project is closed, a number of payments at risk,
0:19:27 > 0:19:33that are released and if we don't close it they won't get paid.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36The Welsh Government had planted seed investment to the scheme
0:19:36 > 0:19:40in the hope it would grow jobs.
0:19:40 > 0:19:45Earlier this year, it emerged Michael Carrick had ?35,000 worth
0:19:45 > 0:19:49of work carried out on the garden of his mansion in Cambridgshire.
0:19:49 > 0:19:52And the company which was partly funded by the public -
0:19:52 > 0:19:57was asked to pay for it.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Invoices were sent to David Davies by a whistle-blower.
0:20:01 > 0:20:10They were for hundreds of hours of work over a two-year period.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12The landscape gardeners who are based in Cambridgeshire
0:20:12 > 0:20:14invoiced Heads of the Valleys Development Company
0:20:14 > 0:20:17which is a publicly funded company and I asked Michael why?
0:20:17 > 0:20:20He told me the invoices were not paid by Heads of the Valleys,
0:20:20 > 0:20:23they were paid by Aventa which was his company and he can
0:20:23 > 0:20:24do what he wants with.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27I said, well why did this go on over a period of two years
0:20:27 > 0:20:29and he said it was a mistake.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Well, it's a funny mistake to happen.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33Why was the Heads of the Valleys Development Company
0:20:33 > 0:20:35asked to pay for ?35,000 worth of work on your garden?
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Well, actually it's an administrative oversight.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40It wasn't asked to pay for that and we've corrected that.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42So that's unfortunate, we've given assurances
0:20:42 > 0:20:44to Welsh Government and others that it hasn't
0:20:44 > 0:20:46been used in that way.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50That was a mistake that went on for two years Well,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52it's an administrative oversight and we've apologised for it.
0:20:52 > 0:21:02It doesn't look good, though, does it?
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Well, in the context of ?20 million -odd that's been spent I don't think
0:21:08 > 0:21:09?34,000 is that relevant.
0:21:09 > 0:21:15To be honest.
0:21:15 > 0:21:16No, it didn't.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19It looks like that's what it is but I've just told you,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21the invoice was misaddressed, Aventa spent that money
0:21:21 > 0:21:23and it was spent on what at the time was our office.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25According to Companies House documents, Mr Carrick's
0:21:25 > 0:21:27office moved from his home to Finsbury Circus
0:21:27 > 0:21:28in London in 2013.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30The gardening invoices - which included amongst other things,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32the cost of compost, seeds, and a timber path,
0:21:32 > 0:21:36were for work done almost a year later and up until March this year.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38In September, the Circuit of Wales team were back
0:21:38 > 0:21:40on the streets in Ebbw Vale, telling locals they do
0:21:40 > 0:21:43have the investors they need, and what they want from the Welsh
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Government.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47All they are asking for from the government is for them
0:21:47 > 0:21:50to underwrite the 50% if at any point it goes tits up
0:21:50 > 0:21:51in the next 30 years.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59So the Welsh Government could earn ?4 million a year in interest
0:21:59 > 0:22:02if the Circuit succeeds.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05But if it failed after being built, we might have to repay up
0:22:05 > 0:22:09to ?7 million a year for 35 years.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14I am satisfied in talking to the senior guys in this
0:22:14 > 0:22:18that the finances they are in place.
0:22:18 > 0:22:20That is what you have been told.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24Yes, that's what I have been told.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Michael Carrick says he's put ?2.5 million of his own money
0:22:27 > 0:22:30into the development.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Though he hasn't said publicly where the current
0:22:32 > 0:22:35investment is coming from, he has dropped hints about who else
0:22:35 > 0:22:38is eyeing up a place on this site.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Build it and they will come - that's been the company's promise
0:22:41 > 0:22:46about attracting big businesses and jobs to this site.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49We've discovered they are suggesting that car giant BMW has
0:22:49 > 0:22:59its sights on Ebbw Vale.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02David Davies says he was told in a meeting.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04One company that he named as being very interested in getting
0:23:04 > 0:23:08involved and he suggested that BMW were hoping to open up a sort of BMW
0:23:08 > 0:23:14World - a bit like Disneyworld, presumably, but lots of BMWs.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17I don't know how it would work but these are big companies that
0:23:17 > 0:23:22were being named in the time in the presentation.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Michael Carrick has also suggested that BT wants to invest here,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28that there's talk of the company becoming involved with
0:23:28 > 0:23:31a multi-million pound innovation centre which is planned
0:23:31 > 0:23:33for the site.
0:23:33 > 0:23:36Well, we checked with BT.
0:23:36 > 0:23:43They told us they are not.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Tell me about BMW's plans for Ebbw Vale.
0:23:46 > 0:23:53Well, I have no detail on BMW's plans for Ebbw Vale.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58The BMW World project?
0:23:58 > 0:24:00The BMW World project.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03We have a number of discussions that are going on with industrial
0:24:03 > 0:24:07partners, that may lead to potential occupation.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09I think BMW is one of the conversations
0:24:09 > 0:24:11we've had in the past.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13And BT?
0:24:13 > 0:24:16BT have a number of relationships with us.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19What have they got planned?
0:24:19 > 0:24:23Well, there's a BT academy with Dorna for new academy riders,
0:24:23 > 0:24:29we're hoping it will be based on the site at Ebbw Vale.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33We've discussed it with BMW and BT and BT are emphatic that they don't
0:24:33 > 0:24:36have any plans to have anything to do with
0:24:36 > 0:24:39the Circuit of Wales.
0:24:39 > 0:24:45Well, we'll see.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48Somebody in the Welsh Assembly needs to be asking very, very,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51hard questions of Michael Carrick and trying to marry up
0:24:51 > 0:24:54the information he's giving which is inconsistent with facts
0:24:54 > 0:24:57as we can find them.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Are you raising objections for political gain because you're
0:24:59 > 0:25:03trying to make political capital out of it?
0:25:03 > 0:25:06Not at all, there's no political gain in it for me.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08I am raising these objections because I've been approached
0:25:08 > 0:25:12by Michael Carrick and asked to give my support as an MP
0:25:12 > 0:25:22and chair of the Welsh Affairs Select committee.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26There's 3,279 signatures on this cos we really believe
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Blaenau Gwent needs this circuit.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Keen to show support with a petition to the government,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34local people have been told private investors are ready to go
0:25:34 > 0:25:40ahead, so they want Welsh Government to underwrite it.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43We are trying to pep up the Welsh Government to do it
0:25:43 > 0:25:47as quickly as possible.
0:25:47 > 0:25:49Local business leader Phil Edwards says the message
0:25:49 > 0:25:50couldn't be clearer.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52It's got to be this cos there's nothing else,
0:25:52 > 0:26:00unless the Welsh Government are going to turn round and say
0:26:00 > 0:26:03there's a plan B, there's 6,000 jobs that will be there tomorrow.
0:26:03 > 0:26:04Thanks a lot, Don.
0:26:04 > 0:26:06I will be weighed down with these.
0:26:06 > 0:26:08Thank you for coming.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11But six weeks later, the company turned up at the Senedd -
0:26:11 > 0:26:13not with the money - but with merchant bank
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Kleinwort Benson - its role to find ?100m of investment
0:26:15 > 0:26:17the company still needs.
0:26:17 > 0:26:21Money it says it's confident it will find.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23That's the service that you're supposed to be providing to Heads
0:26:23 > 0:26:26of the Valleys Development Company.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28So why do you now need to go to Kleinwort Benson?
0:26:28 > 0:26:30No, the structure has changed.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32We brought Kleinwort Benson in as corporate advisors
0:26:32 > 0:26:34to the Circuit of Wales.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37Your company has been telling people in Blaenau Gwent that
0:26:37 > 0:26:41you have the investment you need, it's now up to the Welsh Government
0:26:41 > 0:26:47to underwrite the deal so that the Circuit can go ahead.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Why have you been telling people that?
0:26:50 > 0:26:53What we've been saying to them is that it's a complex project,
0:26:53 > 0:26:56we've spent many, many, years advancing it,
0:26:56 > 0:27:00and we've got a structure that we believe is supportable.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02And what about public money you have received -
0:27:02 > 0:27:04are we ever going to see that back?
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Well, if we close the project, it gets paid back with interest.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11The Infrastructure and Economy Minister Ken Skates says the people
0:27:11 > 0:27:15of Blaenau Gwent deserve an answer very soon on whether this vision
0:27:15 > 0:27:18will be realised.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21Ken Skates had agreed to give us an interview to discuss the some
0:27:21 > 0:27:23of the issues we have raised about the Circuit of Wales
0:27:23 > 0:27:27but yesterday he changed his mind.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29A press officer told us that the development
0:27:29 > 0:27:33is at a sensitive stage and talks with the company about a refreshed
0:27:33 > 0:27:40bid are commercial, in confidence and progessing.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44The company's bank called in the ?7.35m loan so the Welsh
0:27:44 > 0:27:49government could seek to recover that money but at present it's not.
0:27:49 > 0:27:51David Davies has given a dossier of information
0:27:51 > 0:27:54from the whistle-blower to the Auditor General for Wales
0:27:54 > 0:27:57who has confirmed he is examining the use of public money and aspects
0:27:57 > 0:28:01of how it was awarded.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03They should say to Michael Carrick, it's down to you -
0:28:03 > 0:28:06if you have private investors out there willing to back the scheme,
0:28:06 > 0:28:08bring them forward, let us know who they are.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11At least ?9 million has gone into this scheme of public money
0:28:11 > 0:28:13and I think it's time they started to find
0:28:13 > 0:28:15out what's happened to that
0:28:15 > 0:28:25money and not put any more into it.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29In Ebbw Vale there were prayers again today for Michael
0:28:29 > 0:28:32Carrick and his dream.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35Someone once said to me you spell faith R-I-S-K.
0:28:35 > 0:28:37I worry about it.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40I pray about it and I believe prayer works and I firmly believe
0:28:40 > 0:28:47that this is going to happen.
0:28:47 > 0:28:53For John Daniels, who is out of work again, it's hard to keep faith.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56I'd have been honoured to work there.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59It would have taught me a lot of things and given me a lot
0:28:59 > 0:29:02of confidence and look forward to but unless I am up
0:29:02 > 0:29:12there and see the diggers up there digging I won't believe it.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16People have invested lots of faith, hope, and a lot of dreams in this
0:29:16 > 0:29:21Circuit and so far they have come to nothing.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24We appreciate that it has been challenging.
0:29:24 > 0:29:28We're committed to delivering it to the degree we can.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32At what point do you draw a line under this and say, enough.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35I think you do at some point have to draw a line.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37If we're not going to be delivering what we say we're
0:29:37 > 0:29:43going to be delivering, we'll stop it.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49The promise of changing this landscape and of the fortunes
0:29:49 > 0:29:52and the lives of the people in that valley below has been
0:29:52 > 0:29:55a huge undertaking.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59This community has lost so many jobs over the years, this scheme
0:29:59 > 0:30:02seemed to offer real hope.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05But if that hope is lost, there won't just be anger
0:30:05 > 0:30:07and disappointment,there'll be serious questions,
0:30:07 > 0:30:13too, about who is to blame.
0:30:30 > 0:30:30tomorrow
0:30:30 > 0:30:30tomorrow night
0:30:30 > 0:30:33tomorrow night at