The brain-training firm struggling to remember who it has worked with

Lovebrain claimed a dazzling array of global brands as clients. It wasn't all true - and the booming brain fitness industry is built on rather shaky science

- Evie Breese

A high-end brain-training company, claiming to have provided its service for companies including Lloyds Bank, Tesco and Alcoholics Anonymous, may have misled consumers, an Observer investigation has revealed.

Lovebrain claims to have trained more than 3,000 people, among them chief executives, company directors and consultants, to improve focus, memory and information processing using techniques based on neuroscience. Prospective students can apply to join its live four-day training programme for £4,900.

But following enquiries from The Observer, WeWork, CBRE and Lloyds Bank confirmed they have not worked with Lovebrain, despite being described as organisations the company "support(s) with cognitive training". A few weeks ago, Tesco's logo appeared on the site. But Tesco said the claim it has used Lovebrain's services is incorrect, and it did not authorise the use of its logo.

"I work with organisations and people - for example, Alcoholics Anonymous," Lovebrain co-founder and trainer Yousuf Aslam has told prospective students. But when AA checked its records, it found no record of any training from Lovebrain.

Lovebrain told The Observer references to AA were "illustrative, not representational of a corporate relationship". It did not comment on its relationships with WeWork, CBRE and Lloyds Bank.

Lego, Cisco and BAE Systems are also among the eight companies that have had logos removed from the 16 that featured on the site. The description accompanying the remaining logos has been changed to read: "Organisations whose teams and employees have attended our training."