The Big Help Group says it has gone into administrationDan Haygarth Liverpool Daily Post Editor and Regeneration Reporter
13:53, 08 Jun 2025
Cllr Colette Goulding
A Liverpool councillor linked to a troubled charity and business group is facing a call to resign after she was declared bankrupt.
Cllr Colette Goulding, a Labour representative for the West Derby Muirhead ward, was urged to resign by Liverpool’s Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Carl Cashman after she was declared bankrupt at Liverpool’s County Court on May 13, according to the government’s Individual Insolvency Register.
In his call for her resignation, Cllr Cashman made reference to The Big Help Group, which Cllr Goulding was associated with.
The Big Help Group is understood to be a parent group containing a number of companies and organisations, designed to help communities and support charitable aims. Among them are the Big Help Project, an anti-poverty charity which has been the subject of an investigation by the Charity Commission, launched in 2023.
Following her bankruptcy and reporting from The Liverpool Post, which has published a number of articles about The Big Help Group, the city’s opposition leader, Cllr Cashman wrote to council leader Liam Robinson to call for Cllr Goulding’s resignation.
Cllr Cashman wrote: “I am writing to you after discovering that one of your Labour Councillors, Cllr Colette Goulding, has been declared bankrupt. More importantly, after reading the most recent revelations about the Big Help Project in The Post.
“As you will know depending on the type of bankruptcy order, Cllr Goulding may well not have to resign. Even if we leave that issue for the time being I believe that the most recent revelations in The Post are reason enough for Cllr Goulding to resign.
“The issues that Liverpool has faced under Labour leadership has left the city’s reputation damaged. This further damages Labour and Liverpool’s reputation.
“Liam, I respect you. I respected your view on Mike Amesbury before the Runcorn by-election, calling his position untenable after what happened in Runcorn. I am asking you to do the same here.
“I honestly believe that if you don’t call for Cllr Goulding to resign, you will lose a massive amount of respect and credibility.”
The ECHO understands that discharged bankruptcy orders are not a barrier to being a councillor. Though in some circumstances, it can become a barrier.
The ECHO has approached Liverpool City Council and Labour North West for comment. The ECHO has attempted to reach Cllr Goulding via email, phone and by knocking at her registered addresses. At the time of writing, we have received no reply.
The Big Help Group and Big Help Project
Cllr Goulding was listed as a director of a number of entities carrying the Big Help name, including Big Help Group, on Companies House. However, she resigned from all but one of these positions in 2023 and 2024 before resigning from the final role in May of this year.
The ECHO understands that staff at Big Help Group were on May 21 told not to come into work the following day and they would not be paid their wages. The ECHO contacted current company director Andrew Moorhead on Friday, who he said he did not wish to comment at this time.
When the ECHO emailed the address listed online for the Big Help Project on Friday, an automatic reply said: “Unfortantely (sic) Big Help Group and Big Help Trading have gone into liquidation. Therefore this email is no longer monitored.”
Last month, the ECHO reported the group’s office had been put up for sale. The group’s base, found on Boaler Street in Kensington, has been listed for sale with property firm Eddisons for £1.7m.
Big Help Group Offices, Kensington(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Regarding the office sale, a Big Help spokesperson told the ECHO last month: “Unfortunately Big Help Group has been undertaking a period of consolidation as a result of rising costs and reductions in income and as such has made the difficult decision to facilitate the sale of our office base on Boaler Street, we are putting comprehensive plans in place to ensure this short term disruption only has minimal impact on ongoing service delivery and as always our clients remain our top priority.”
Charity the Big Help Project’s address is listed as 410 East Prescot Road, rather than on Boaler Street. The Charity Commission said in February 2024 that it had opened a statutory inquiry into the Big Help Project on December 7, 2023.
The regulator said it first engaged with the Liverpool-based charity after “identifying a significant increase in its reported income.” It added it then identified concerns around trustee decision making, potential unauthorised trustee benefit and unmanaged conflicts of interest.
At the time, a spokesperson for Big Help Project said: “We are very disappointed to note the decision of the Charity Commission.
“We have cooperated fully and will continue to cooperate fully with the Charity Commission. None of our service delivery will be affected in any way and we will continue to provide the same lifechanging support that we have for the past 12 years.
“We look forward to clearing up any issues raised during this process and are now exploring various legal channels through which we can do so. As the Commission’s guidance states (CC46_.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk), ‘An inquiry should not in itself be seen as a determination by the regulator of wrong-doing in a charity’. The hundreds of clients we help each week can rest assured they remain our priority.”
Joe Michael Birley and Mr Moorhead are listed as the current trustees of the charity. They are also listed as the only active directors of Big Help Group Ltd on Companies House. Mr Birley was also contacted for comment.
Former Liverpool City Councillor Peter Mitchell was chief executive of charity Big Help Project but is no longer listed as a trustee on the Charity Commission website. Mr Mitchell was also declared bankrupt on the same day as Cllr Goulding and the two share the same last known address on the Individual Insolvency Register.
Mr Mitchell was also a director of Big Help Group Ltd from March 2, 2021. According to Companies House, he resigned from this role on March 23, 2025. He has now resigned from all of his roles at all Big Help entities, including Big Help Green Ltd, Big Help Housing Co Ltd and Big Help Project Ltd (a limited company rather than the aforementioned charity), which appointed liquidators last year.
Additionally, The Big Help Group became majority shareholders of Southport FC in 2023, with Mr Mitchell installed as the club’s chairman. Last month, he confirmed that the group was involved in discussions about the football club’s sale.
In an update on the club’s website on May 1, Mr Mitchell wrote: “In respect to recent speculation, I can also confirm that Big Help Group have entered into a period of exclusivity regarding the sale of Southport Football Club.
“Furthermore I can confirm that the process is currently underway to obtain the necessary league approvals for this transition of ownership.
“We understand this is an important period for our supporters and stakeholders, and we will as always aim to be open and transparent throughout this process and endeavour to provide further updates on this matter in due course.
“In this interim period everyone at the club from the Boardroom to the volunteers remain solely focused on maintaining stability during this transition period and preparing for the season ahead.”
On May 14, a further update from the club said it was now being run by David Cunningham and Kieran Malone.
The statement read : “As many of you know, The Big Help Group, along with Peter Mitchell and the rest of their board, are no longer involved with the club. Liam Watson and Steven Porter remain as directors.”
The statement said that the ongoing Charity Commission investigation had “implications for the ownership transfer”.
On June 6, the club said: “Southport Football Club can today confirm that David Cunningham and Kieran Malone have officially completed their takeover of the club, marking the beginning of a new chapter in its proud history.”
The ECHO has attempted to reach Mr Mitchell for comment.