It is an organisation that was set up to spark new life into the economy by giving up-and-coming firms the leg-up they need.

The role of the South East England Development Agency (Seeda) is to put money into projects that can create jobs and wealth across Sussex.

But last night the organisation came under fire from MPs for its approach to spending on trips and visits for its well-paid members and staff.

Questions were being asked about business links between Seeda chairman James Brathwaite and companies the agency invested in.

Mr Brathwaite, who lives in a £700,000 house in Angmering, near Littlehampton, has business interests in more than a dozen companies, almost all based in Sussex.

In 1989, the Zoology and Physiology graduate set up Epic Interactive Media in Brighton, which he built up to become one of Europe’s largest multimedia companies.

He floated it in 1996, becoming Britain’s first black CEO of a publicly quoted company and became a CBE for services to the Sussex economy in the New Year’s Honours 2001.

He took up the chairmanship of Seeda in August 2002. He earns £75,000-a-year for the three-day week job.

In 2003 Seeda set up the South East Growth Fund (SEGF) and selected WM Enterprises to invest money in up-and-coming businesses using cash from the EU, the Government and private companies.

The SEGF is an independent organisation but is supported and sponsored by Seeda which has a member on its advisory committee.

In 2003, the SEGF invested £350,000 in Exam on Demand Ltd, a start-up business based in Pound Hill, Crawley, which offers an on-line exam system to detect cheating.

It also invested £500,000 in Seal Analytical Ltd, which is registered in Victoria Road, Burgess Hill, and is a well-established firm which sells water-analysis equipment.

Papers lodged at Companies House reveal that Mr Brathwaite is a director and shareholder in both companies.

Exam on Demand Limited paid £12,000 in the financial year 2004-05 to Brathwaite & Co, a partnership in which Mr Brathwaite is a partner.

Mr Brathwaite is also one of the largest shareholders in Seal Analytical.

As Seeda celebrated the SEGF’s 29th investment, Mr Brathwaite said: “It is investment support like this which helps companies, and therefore the region as a whole, to prosper.”

In May 2006, Morgan Everett Ltd received £75,000 directly from Seeda as a grant for research and development.

The Argus can reveal that Mr Brathwaite is a director of the medical electronics company based in Hampshire and, along with his wife, holds almost a third of all shares issued by the company.

No allegations of wrongdoing are being made but last night, Lib Dem MP for Lewes, Norman Baker, said that Seeda should not employ a chairman who has continuing business interests in the region.

He said: “It is unfortunate to see that Mr Brathwaite’s companies have benefited from Seeda investments.

“It is important to have no conflict of interest but also to be seen to have no conflict of interest.

“It is much better if we have someone who is retired from business.”

Brighton Kemptown MP Des Turner said Seeda was “not at all transparent”.

Mr Brathwaite chose not to speak to this newspaper.

A Seeda statement said he had played no role in applying or lobbying for Morgan Everett to receive the Seeda grant.

Regarding the SEGF investments, the spokesman said that Seeda provides no investment to SEGF and does not play any part in its funding decisions.

Derek King, a key player at the SEGF, said the funding decisions were in no way influenced by Mr Brathwaite’s position.

He said: “We have people’s pension money so we cannot even begin to make decisions based on that.”

He said that both firms were exactly the kind of business the fund looks for, adding that Seal had proved an excellent investment although Exam on Demand had “not done as well” as he would have liked so far.

Where the money has been spent

Seeda was set up in 1999 and was handed almost £200 million last year, mostly in grants from the Department of Trade and Industry, to which it is accountable. Among the events it has held to promote business in the South East have been:

AWARDS CEREMONY
COST £115,000

A Glitzy ceremony at Brighton’s Corn Exchange last March to celebrate the best green-minded businesses in the South East cost the taxpayers a cool £115,000.

Even though it was an evening of free wine, gastronomy and glamour the event left some guests with a bitter taste in their mouths.

One invitee told The Argus that the black-tie soirée failed to generate enough media interest to make the gathering worthwhile.

She said: “There was a fair bit of free wine but there was no PR.

“The one benefit of these events is the PR you receive and there was very little coverage.”

While some of the plucky start-up companies complained that the prize-giving ceremony produced little business, one of the biggest international consultancy firms, Arthur D Little, walked away with £35,000.

The multinational business was charged with assessing the finalists and writing case studies for publication.

Food and drink cost £23,000 alone but the biggest individual benefactor from the evening was the master of ceremonies, Floella Benjamin.

The BBC presenter took home £5,000 for her work on the night.

Seeda chairman James Brathwaite is a former director of Ms Benjamin’s production company.

A spokesman for Seeda explained that the awards ceremony had resulted in good coverage for businesses and that Arthur D Little had provided a great deal of work for its fee.

He said the event had a host of positive knock-on effects including the promotion of eco-friendly businesses.

GOODWOOD MEETING
COST £7,000

The Goodwood Revival Meeting in September 2005 saw 19 guests entertained at the celebration of the golden era of motorsports. The event cost £7,000, or £368 per person.

TALL SHIP TOUR
COST £12,000

In August last year Seeda’s top brass hired the largest wooden tall ship in the world for a day’s sailing around the Solent.

Food and drink was laid on for the 55 company directors and Seeda chairman and the chief executive Pam Alexander.

At a cost of £12,000, the 213-foot Tenacious allowed guests to be given a tour of Seeda-related projects along the coast.

A log by one of the sailors reveals: “It was an amazing day, we had plenty of wind and a wonderful view of all the racing boats.”

TAXI EXPENSES
COST £55,000

Seeda's taxi expenses were described as grotesque by Mr Baker.

The chief executive and chairman racked up £55,000 in taxis in 2005-06, more than the £45,000 claimed by all of Britain’s MPs put together.

Chairman James Brathwaite was the biggest spender, charging the agency £36,000 despite working only three days a week – an average of £230 a day for taxis.

Scottish Conservative leader David McLetchie resigned from Holyrood after it emerged that he had spent £11,500 during five years as a member of the Scottish Parliament. Mr Brathwaite spent that much in four months.

Mr Baker said: “I just find that amount of money grotesque and it shows no regard for the environment.

They must be using taxis every day and for long distances and that is clearly an abuse of public money.”

A Seeda spokesman defended the expense claims, saying taxis were used only when public transport was not available.

He said: “This is to maximise the use of their time for Seeda, and to ensure that they can work whilst travelling.”

SECRETARIAL EXPENSES
COST £93,000

Since becoming chairman of Seeda in 2002, James Brathwaite has claimed £93,000 in secretarial expenses.

His predecessor, Alan Willett, did not claim a penny as he used one of Seeda’s in-house employees. The agency’s accounts reveal that the money was paid to Brathwaite & Co.

Seeda said: “The chairman is a self-employed businessman and chooses to employ a secretary direct and claim reimbursement for other office expenses.

“If he did not, we would still need to support him by employing similar resources in Seeda at a similar expense.”

When asked whether the secretary worked only on Seeda-related business, Seeda refused to comment.

OVERSEAS TRAVEL

The chairman and chief executive have toured the world in the past two years, flying business class each time, even on the shortest flights, and staying at some of the top hotels.

These include two trips to Cannes, two trips to the United States and trips to China, India, Belgium, Malta, France, Germany and Japan.

In March 2005 James Brathwaite flew to Cannes to promote the South East at an international property conference.

Seeda has an annual presence at the exhibition. Mr Brathwaite spent £611 on a return flight with Easyjet.

On another trip, he spent £1,300 on a day return flight from Southampton to Liege and back from Maastricht.

According to the Seeda website, Mr Brathwaite’s work that day included him handing over a certificate of excellence to the designers, builders and operators of the new Liege Guillemins station.

Chief executive Mrs Alexander spent almost £6,000 on a business class flight to the US.

Both the chief executive and chairman stayed at a host of four and five-star hotels, including New York’s Grand Hyatt Hotel, the New Otani in Tokyo and The Oberoi Mumbai, recently voted one of the 80 best hotels in the world.

The average spend in India was £230 a night per person.

OSBORNE HOUSE LUNCH
COST £1,600

A Lunch at the salubrious Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight, cost £1,600, including £550 for food and drink.

Four Seeda personnel treated ten guests to the meal at Queen Victoria’s holiday home.