'Definitely the business was run badly [...] and he wasted lots of money'
James Petter, Reform councillor and the deputy leader of West Northamptonshire Council, headed up a business that failed and caused investors to lose large sums of money.
As reported by the NN Journal, Petter, who is also the cabinet member for economy, business and leisure, is the sole remaining director of Hydro Navitas Solutions.
The company tried to bring an American fire suppression product, Firefreeze, to the UK market.
Investors claim the company, which is now in liquidation, failed to secure any contracts or generate sales.
One investor whose family put around £100,000 into the venture, said: “Definitely the business was run badly and he [Cllr Petter] wasted lots of money.
“He paid himself decent money and was hiring cars and things like that, so I would say it wasn’t done as best it could and he had his interests at the heart of it rather than the investors.”
The person added: “I think he did have full intention for the product to work – he had good intentions behind it, it was just the way he went about it.”
Investors said they did not know Petter’s exact salary but estimated that it was around £60,000 a year.
Another investor, a former firefighter who invested £15,000 of his retirement savings, told the NN Journal: “Why has the company been left with such debts? Where has all the money gone?
“I think he should be exposed, especially due to the position he has today in the council. It is there in black and white that he is a failed businessman and in my view if you can’t run a business you should not be in charge of such large budgets at the council.”
The investor added: “He would open a door, but was never able to close a deal. Which made people think after a few years, is he the right person for the job?”.
On his LinkedIn profile, Petter wrote that he set up Hydro Navitas to “change the hearts and minds” within the public sector and educate them about how Firefreeze, a “100% environmentally friendly, non-toxic, non-corrosive firefighting wetting agent can help them with some of their most challenging fires”.
Petter said that his business was “heavily disrupted by Covid, which prevented face to face engagement with clients and brought motorsport activity, a key commercial route, to an abrupt halt”.
He added: “My role at West Northamptonshire Council is entirely separate from this past private business, with council decisions taken collectively within strict governance and scrutiny, and accountability exercised through open public processes and the ballot box.”
According to the company’s accounts, the firm has outstanding liabilities of £640,712 and owes creditors £338,714.
Last year, Petter accidentally left his camera on while in a Zoom training session and got into the bath.
The Reform council later deleted the recording due to its “sensitive content”.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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