The Prince’s Trust has insisted it acted appropriately over the planned lease of  Fulham Palace Garden Centre, despite an apparent conflict of interest with Pets at Home, who have now ditched their plan to lease the site.

It's believed that the pet superstore got cold feet after it became common knowledge that one of its board members Amy Stirling (pictured) was also chief financial officer of the charity.

A spokeswoman for the Prince’s Trust said: "The trust’s CFO has no influence over decisions being made – the whole process is being managed by an independent surveying company, Colliers International, in line with charity law.

"We are duty-bound as a charity to focus on our core activity of supporting disadvantaged young people into jobs and training. The decision to lease the site of the garden centre is based on the very best of intentions to help more young people to get their lives on track."

The spokeswoman said that the charity understood the concerns of local residents and would "work with any future tenants to reflect the character of the local surroundings".

A spokesman for Pets at Home said he could not comment on the situation.

The garden centre was formerly known as Fairbridge Garden Centre and became part of the Prince’s Trust when it merged with the youth charity Fairbridge in 2011.

The charity’s accounts for the year to 31 March 2012 show that the garden centre generated £941,000 of the Prince’s Trust’s £55.3m total income for the year. It had nine members of staff.