Mortgaged to the Hilt: Financial Questions Mount Around Hartlepool Council Leaders Spennymoor Business...

Pamela Hargreaves (Brash), labour leader of Hartlepool Borough Council

Financial records show The Labour Council leaders sideline corporation Hargreaves Brash Properties Ltd, which she set up with her Labour MP Husband has taken on yet more borrowing in a very short period of time, raising concerns her business isn't doing as well as she'd hoped.

9th November 2025

A Hartlepool Labour Council Leader is facing questions over whether her sideline business is hitting the rocks, after a Teesside & Durham Post investigation finds more evidence to show she's taken out further borrowing to sustain the business using a plush £525k property as security.

Fresh documents filed at Companies House show that Pamela Hargreaves, director of Hargreaves Brash Properties Ltd — a private company linked to Hartlepool Borough Council leader Pamela Hargreaves and her husband, Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash — has taken on yet more secured borrowing arrangements, adding to a growing list of financial charges now held against the property which underpins the County Durham based business.

The latest filing, registered on the 5 November 2025, reveals the company created a legal charge with National Westminster Bank PLC (NatWest) on 23 October 2025. The charge reportedly being against the property Parkside Bungalow and adjoining land on Carr Street, Spennymoor (DL16 6JJ), a property where Ms Hargreaves operates the company Water Babies Spennymoor...

The registration was filed by Evans and Co and includes a negative pledge clause — meaning the property cannot be used to secure further borrowing without the lender’s consent. In simple terms, the property is now tied up as collateral until the bank’s loan is repaid....... IN FULL !

A Pattern of Debt

The latest entry adds to what critics are calling "a worrying pattern of borrowing" by the company, with multiple charges recorded at Companies House. While it is not unusual for firms to borrow against their assets, a growing number of registered charges, according to our expert can often suggests a heavy reliance on debt financing — raising legitimate questions about the firm’s financial stability and its risk exposure.

Repeatedly leveraging assets to secure new borrowing can also limit future flexibility and indicate the business is under severe cash flow strain, especially in the current high-interest economic climate, adding to fears the business may be taking on more borrowing than it can afford.

Public Interest and Transparency

Documents seen by the Teesside & Durham Post reveal Hartlepool Labour MP Jonathan Brash still has interest in the business, despite removing himself as a director from it earlier this year...

Given the company’s connection to two prominent local figures — one a senior elected councillor, the other an MP representing Hartlepool — this level of private financial activity will naturally attract public scrutiny. Local residents and taxpayers are likely to draw the conclusion that the increased borrowing secured on the property is a sign that all is not well for Labour Councillor Pamela Hargreaves business interests & an increased 'desperation' to secure a further term as councillor in may's 2026 local elections, especially if her £8,330 councillor allowances are underpinning her business loan repayments.

Whilst it's important to note that the Companies House document showing the further borrowing being secured against the Spennymoor property does not imply any wrongdoing, it does provide a more clear record of significant borrowing being made against company assets, that being the bungalow itself, suggesting Mrs Brash's business venture is floundering under the current economic climate...

As Hargreaves Brash Properties Ltd continues to secure new loans, observers are beginning to question whether the company’s financial model under such levels of borrowing are sustainable — and whether the growing list of charges should raise red flags for lenders, investors, and the public alike, especially after recent events seen the closure of a Hartlepool Business which collapsed under the weight of its own liabilities, and found to have been saddled with half a million pounds worth of debt.

For now, what’s certain is that the latest filing highlights how deeply this company has become quickly tied up in debt — something that, in any business, can be a warning sign of severe overextension and risk.

Correction,

Article originally stated the bungalow at Parkside Spennymoor was £700k, actual price was £525k. we have updated the article to correct this