THE first annual accounts from Northumberland County Council’s new development company have reported an overall loss of £4m during its transitional year.

The figure came to light after Advance Northumberland, which replaced the county council’s scandal-hit company Arch in November 2018, lodged its accounts for the year ending March 31, 2019, with Companies House.

The accounts, however, covered the last seven and a half months of Arch and just the first four and a half months of Advance.

The report showed that the company’s turnover, albeit under a new name, continued to rise, from £36.1m to £39.8m, while gross profit also grew slightly by £300,000 from £22m.

However, Advance’s overall loss after tax for the 2018-19 financial year was £4.08m, slightly lower than the £4.4m recorded during the previous year under Arch.

The loss was attributed to several factors including a revaluation of the investment portfolio resulting in a net decrease of £8.2m and a £50,000 drop in the capital contribution from the county council.

Similarly to its predecessor Arch, Advance Northumberland continues to owe a significant amount of money to the county council.

Arch was closed in 2018, following allegations of corruption and the abuse of tax payers’ money by some executives at the company.