A former public schoolboy has been named as the alleged mastermind behind a multi-million pound property development fraud, according to High Court papers.

Charles Cunningham, whose time at Eton overlapped with Prince William’s, has been identified in court papers as controlling a series of companies used to defraud Asian investors of millions of pounds by enticing them with UK developments that were never completed.

The son of a City financier, Mr Cunningham, whose brother Rupert is friends with some of Prince Harry’s inner circle, lives in a large country estate in North Wales with his wife. The couple boast a who’s who of society contacts.

Mr Cunningham, 38, flatly denies all the allegations and has said that he is confident that a High Court hearing will overturn the freezing order which was brought by the liquidator of Absolute Living Developments.

He has been accused of being one of the masterminds behind ALD, which offered five large development projects in northern England that were marketed to investors in the Far East and South-East Asia.

But in April 2016 the company, which boasted developments in Runcorn, Manchester and Bradford, went into liquidation.

ALD is one of a raft of UK property companies that have become mired in controversy in Asia. Hong Kong investors and politicians have accused the UK authorities and police of turning a blind eye to multi-million pound ‘fraud’.

Hong Kong politicians have reported ALD to the Serious Fraud Office and have also asked the Chinese government to protect the interests of Chinese investors in UK property projects. The news comes as Beijing attempts to slow down the outflow of capital from the country.

Liquidator Louise Brittain was recently granted a £14.5 million freezing order in the High Court, designed to prevent ‘steps to dissipate or secrete assets’ from ALD by Mr Cunningham and a business partner.

In her High Court affidavit in support of the order, the liquidator said she had discovered that ‘a substantial proportion of the monies owed and/or paid to ALD…had been wrongfully diverted’ to three companies, named as DS7, Gozon and EPG Manlet.

Brittain states that the ‘three companies form part of a complex structure of entities under the control’ of Mr Cunningham and his alleged business partner, which, she claims, ‘has been used to defraud investors (most of whom are based in Hong Kong and Malaysia)’.

Mr Cunningham told The Mail on Sunday: ‘These monies were not wrongfully diverted and a forensic report is currently being prepared which will establish the exact payments and the legitimacy of those payments made by these companies.’ ALD, set up in 2013 to market properties, is linked to a Salford-based company called Fresh Start Living. In 2011, Mr Cunningham was brought in as the face of FSL, but the firm went bankrupt in 2013 with debts of more than £2 million.

Mr Cunningham, whose ancestors include baronets and a Founding Father of the American constitution, has a social media profile showing that he is Facebook friends with Ben Vestey, a close friend of Prince William, and Edward Guinness, a scion of the brewing family.

In April 2016, Mr Cunningham bought a large Georgian country house in North Wales for more than a million pounds. It has played host to visiting literary giants Lord Byron, William Wordsworth and Sir Walter Scott. Mr Cunningham told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The freezing order is a cynical abuse of power. DS7 categorically refutes all claims and allegations made by Louise Brittain and it will challenge the injunction and debunk any allegations with the very facts and evidence that they have deliberately withheld.’

In the court papers, the liquidator states that ALD would take 50 per cent of the purchase price usually before the company had even bought the property. Investors complain that the properties were never actually completed.

Mr Cunningham admitted that some had not been finished, but blamed a group of Malaysian businessmen who he claimed were the ultimate owners of ALD. 

Source: Adam Luck – Mail on Sunday

Rotherham Development linked to Dubious Investment Schemes

Work is slow on a housing development in Rotherham town centre with development companies wound up and even linked to protests in Hong Kong by worried investors.

Revised plans to convert the historic Howard Building into self-contained studios and apartments were approved by the planning board at Rotherham Council in 2015.

The prominent former college building was sold prior to going to auction after it was advertised as a development opportunity and given a guide price of £250,000 by local auctioneers, Mark Jenkinson & son.

With little evidence of the conversion into twelve, one bed apartments and 60 studio apartments at "Howard Residencies", applicants, AVRO Developments headed into insolvency, with Rotherham Council leading the petition in 2015 to have the company wound up.

Financial documents link AVRO Developments to DS7 Limited which has acted as a lender to Absolute Living Developments, Fresh Start Living and Empirical Property, all highlighted in the media as leaving buy-to-let investors out of pocket.

Similar schemes in Manchester, Bradford and across the North of England were sold off plan to investors with the promise of decent returns, but the work was never completed and companies were wound up and projects moved on in complex deals. In some cases where some work was carried out, tenants were left with exposed electrical wires, a leaking roof, an illegal gas connection, a car park strewn with contaminated waste and an open sewer pipe.

The Telegraph & Argus reported this year that police in Hong Kong are conducting an international investigation into Liverpool-based Absolute Living Developments, which had been part-way through three apartment projects in Bradford when it was placed in compulsory liquidation. Overseas investors fear they have lost their money paid in deposits.

Howard Residencies is currently being offered as an investment opportunity by Crown Union (located at a virtual office in London and shares directors with companies linked to the Howard Building and DS7 Limited). It is offered as an "Ideal purchase for investors looking at UK Buy To Let's as a way of getting onto the first rung of the property investment ladder. From dynamic apartment layouts to classic period façade and stonework surrounds, this redevelopment brings together Rotherham past and present to create a truly unique place to live for post-graduates, young professionals & key workers."

Starter pads and 1 bed apartments are being offered at £49,950 and £69,950 with an 8% ROI per annum.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/freshstart-living-shut-down-high-2919959

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14908996.Investigation_into_developer__39_s_collap %20%20se_continues_as_number_of_people_alleging_de ceptio%20%20n_grows/

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=170660

http://dmh.plcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/dmh_howard_web.pdf


Crown Union website

http://www.crown-union.com/item/howard-residences/

by Tom Austen http://www.rothbiz.co.uk/

Rotherham Development linked to Dubious Investment Schemes

Work is slow on a housing development in Rotherham town centre with development companies wound up and even linked to protests in Hong Kong by worried investors.

Revised plans to convert the historic Howard Building into self-contained studios and apartments were approved by the planning board at Rotherham Council in 2015.

The prominent former college building was sold prior to going to auction after it was advertised as a development opportunity and given a guide price of £250,000 by local auctioneers, Mark Jenkinson & son.

With little evidence of the conversion into twelve, one bed apartments and 60 studio apartments at "Howard Residencies", applicants, AVRO Developments headed into insolvency, with Rotherham Council leading the petition in 2015 to have the company wound up.

Financial documents link AVRO Developments to DS7 Limited which has acted as a lender to Absolute Living Developments, Fresh Start Living and Empirical Property, all highlighted in the media as leaving buy-to-let investors out of pocket.

Similar schemes in Manchester, Bradford and across the North of England were sold off plan to investors with the promise of decent returns, but the work was never completed and companies were wound up and projects moved on in complex deals. In some cases where some work was carried out, tenants were left with exposed electrical wires, a leaking roof, an illegal gas connection, a car park strewn with contaminated waste and an open sewer pipe.

The Telegraph & Argus reported this year that police in Hong Kong are conducting an international investigation into Liverpool-based Absolute Living Developments, which had been part-way through three apartment projects in Bradford when it was placed in compulsory liquidation. Overseas investors fear they have lost their money paid in deposits.

Howard Residencies is currently being offered as an investment opportunity by Crown Union (located at a virtual office in London and shares directors with companies linked to the Howard Building and DS7 Limited). It is offered as an "Ideal purchase for investors looking at UK Buy To Let's as a way of getting onto the first rung of the property investment ladder. From dynamic apartment layouts to classic period façade and stonework surrounds, this redevelopment brings together Rotherham past and present to create a truly unique place to live for post-graduates, young professionals & key workers."

Starter pads and 1 bed apartments are being offered at £49,950 and £69,950 with an 8% ROI per annum.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/freshstart-living-shut-down-high-2919959

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14908996.Investigation_into_developer__39_s_collap %20%20se_continues_as_number_of_people_alleging_de ceptio%20%20n_grows/

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=170660

http://dmh.plcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/dmh_howard_web.pdf


Crown Union website

http://www.crown-union.com/item/howard-residences/

by Tom Austen http://www.rothbiz.co.uk/

Rotherham Development linked to Dubious Investment Schemes

Work is slow on a housing development in Rotherham town centre with development companies wound up and even linked to protests in Hong Kong by worried investors.

Revised plans to convert the historic Howard Building into self-contained studios and apartments were approved by the planning board at Rotherham Council in 2015.

The prominent former college building was sold prior to going to auction after it was advertised as a development opportunity and given a guide price of £250,000 by local auctioneers, Mark Jenkinson & son.

With little evidence of the conversion into twelve, one bed apartments and 60 studio apartments at "Howard Residencies", applicants, AVRO Developments headed into insolvency, with Rotherham Council leading the petition in 2015 to have the company wound up.

Financial documents link AVRO Developments to DS7 Limited which has acted as a lender to Absolute Living Developments, Fresh Start Living and Empirical Property, all highlighted in the media as leaving buy-to-let investors out of pocket.

Similar schemes in Manchester, Bradford and across the North of England were sold off plan to investors with the promise of decent returns, but the work was never completed and companies were wound up and projects moved on in complex deals. In some cases where some work was carried out, tenants were left with exposed electrical wires, a leaking roof, an illegal gas connection, a car park strewn with contaminated waste and an open sewer pipe.

The Telegraph & Argus reported this year that police in Hong Kong are conducting an international investigation into Liverpool-based Absolute Living Developments, which had been part-way through three apartment projects in Bradford when it was placed in compulsory liquidation. Overseas investors fear they have lost their money paid in deposits.

Howard Residencies is currently being offered as an investment opportunity by Crown Union (located at a virtual office in London and shares directors with companies linked to the Howard Building and DS7 Limited). It is offered as an "Ideal purchase for investors looking at UK Buy To Let's as a way of getting onto the first rung of the property investment ladder. From dynamic apartment layouts to classic period façade and stonework surrounds, this redevelopment brings together Rotherham past and present to create a truly unique place to live for post-graduates, young professionals & key workers."

Starter pads and 1 bed apartments are being offered at £49,950 and £69,950 with an 8% ROI per annum.

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/freshstart-living-shut-down-high-2919959

thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14908996.Investigation_into_developer__39_s_collap %20%20se_continues_as_number_of_people_alleging_de ceptio%20%20n_grows/

thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=170660

dmh.plcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/dmh_howard_web.pdf


Crown Union website

http://www.crown-union.com/item/howard-residences/

by Tom Austen http://www.rothbiz.co.uk/

Rotherham Development linked to Dubious Investment Schemes

Work is slow on a housing development in Rotherham town centre with development companies wound up and even linked to protests in Hong Kong by worried investors.

Revised plans to convert the historic Howard Building into self-contained studios and apartments were approved by the planning board at Rotherham Council in 2015.

The prominent former college building was sold prior to going to auction after it was advertised as a development opportunity and given a guide price of £250,000 by local auctioneers, Mark Jenkinson & son.

With little evidence of the conversion into twelve, one bed apartments and 60 studio apartments at "Howard Residencies", applicants, AVRO Developments headed into insolvency, with Rotherham Council leading the petition in 2015 to have the company wound up.

Financial documents link AVRO Developments to DS7 Limited which has acted as a lender to Absolute Living Developments, Fresh Start Living and Empirical Property, all highlighted in the media as leaving buy-to-let investors out of pocket.

Similar schemes in Manchester, Bradford and across the North of England were sold off plan to investors with the promise of decent returns, but the work was never completed and companies were wound up and projects moved on in complex deals. In some cases where some work was carried out, tenants were left with exposed electrical wires, a leaking roof, an illegal gas connection, a car park strewn with contaminated waste and an open sewer pipe.

The Telegraph & Argus reported this year that police in Hong Kong are conducting an international investigation into Liverpool-based Absolute Living Developments, which had been part-way through three apartment projects in Bradford when it was placed in compulsory liquidation. Overseas investors fear they have lost their money paid in deposits.

Howard Residencies is currently being offered as an investment opportunity by Crown Union (located at a virtual office in London and shares directors with companies linked to the Howard Building and DS7 Limited). It is offered as an "Ideal purchase for investors looking at UK Buy To Let's as a way of getting onto the first rung of the property investment ladder. From dynamic apartment layouts to classic period façade and stonework surrounds, this redevelopment brings together Rotherham past and present to create a truly unique place to live for post-graduates, young professionals & key workers."

Starter pads and 1 bed apartments are being offered at £49,950 and £69,950 with an 8% ROI per annum.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/freshstart-living-shut-down-high-2919959

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/14908996.Investigation_into_developer__39_s_collap %20%20se_continues_as_number_of_people_alleging_de ceptio%20%20n_grows/

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=170660

http://dmh.plcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/dmh_howard_web.pdf


Crown Union website

http://www.crown-union.com/item/howard-residences/

by Tom Austen http://www.rothbiz.co.uk/

Investment firm takes on Bradford city centre flats scheme at centre of Hong Kong police probe into previous developer's collapse

Olicana House in Little Germany which has a new owner following the collapse of a development firm

Appointment of Liquidators
ABSOLUTE LIVING DEVELOPMENTS LTD

(Company Number 08766275)

Registered office: Chichester House, Chichester Street, Rochdale, Lancashire OL16 2AU

Principal Trading Address: Chichester House, Chichester Street, Rochdale, Lancashire OL16 2AU

Notice is hereby given in accordance with Rule 4.106 that I, Louise Mary Brittain, of Wilkins Kennedy LLP, Gladstone House, 77-79 High Street, Egham, Surrey, TW20 9HY, (IP No: 009000) was appointed Liquidator of the Company on 21 July 2016. Creditors who have not proved their debts must forward their proofs of debt to me.

Further details contact: Guinevere Ellis, Email: guinevere.ellis@wilkinskennedy.com Tel: 01784 435561.

Louise Brittain Liquidator

21 July

Appointment of Liquidators
ABSOLUTE LIVING DEVELOPMENTS LTD

(Company Number 08766275)

Registered office: Chichester House, Chichester Street, Rochdale, Lancashire OL16 2AU

Principal Trading Address: Chichester House, Chichester Street, Rochdale, Lancashire OL16 2AU

Notice is hereby given in accordance with Rule 4.106 that I, Louise Mary Brittain, of Wilkins Kennedy LLP, Gladstone House, 77-79 High Street, Egham, Surrey, TW20 9HY, (IP No: 009000) was appointed Liquidator of the Company on 21 July 2016. Creditors who have not proved their debts must forward their proofs of debt to me.

Further details contact: Guinevere Ellis, Email: guinevere.ellis@wilkinskennedy.com Tel: 01784 435561.

Louise Brittain, Liquidator

21 July 2016

'Slums of the future' given go-ahead in Runcorn

Planning inspector quashes councillors' decision and paves way for firm to turn asbestos eyesore East Lane House into 448 flats

A flats project in Runcorn described as the 'worst scheme ever seen' by a Halton councillor has been given the go-ahead.

Mark Caine, of the Planning Inspectorate, found in favour of property firm Absolute Living Developments, paving the way for it to convert East Lane House into 448 one-bedroom flats.

Of these units, 394 of them will be ‘studio apartments’ derided as ‘bedsits’ by critics of the project.

Mr Caine’s decision overturns a refusal by elected Halton councillors to reject the scheme.

Opponents to the project have argued that the building will become a ‘slum’, and will cause to parking and traffic problems in the vicinity and neighbouring areas.

Some have said the building also contains asbestos.

Due to a change in the law during the last Parliament, the only factors that could be used to stop converting a building into homes were flood risk, contamination and highways impact.

At first developers planned to provide 60 parking spaces, but increased this to 157 following an outcry.

The planning inspector said that the secretary of state’s comments about homes needing enough places to park vehicles had limited weight in this instance because the flats would not be family homes.

Mr Caine dismissed there being any relevant highways, flood risk or contamination impact.

Critics of the scheme have included Cllr Alan Lowe who said the scheme would create the 'slums of the future' and Cllr Dave Thompson, who called the project 'barmy' and the 'worst he had ever seen'.

In his decision report, published on Wednesday, Mr Caine said: “Local residents and councillors have also raised a number of other objections.

“These include concerns regarding the proposed mix and tenure, the lack of amenities in the area, the levels of asbestos, the amount of previous fires at the appeal building, anti-social behaviour and noise and disturbance.

“I have also been referred to a previous application at Grosvenor House, and the proposal’s effect on the conservation area and the regeneration of the area have also been put forward.

“However, prior approval applications only allow consideration of specific matters which are in regard to highways impact, contamination and flood risk.

“The matters raised above are therefore not relevant to the proposal and do not form a basis for dismissing the appeal.”

White House Apartment Runcorn, Absolute Living Developments, Edwen Yew, Knight Knox, Jeremy Knight, Owen Knox selling properties they DO NOT OWN, with NO PLANNING PERMISSION to Investors in UK and Malaysia.

whitehouseruncorn.com/

MORE SALFORD FLATS BEING SOLD BEFORE PLANNING PERMISSION GRANTED

Developer Knight Knox and associated agents are selling flats at the proposed Adelphi Wharf blocks before any planning permission or Section 106 agreements have been put in place.

The flats on Adelphi Street, on the site of the previously ill-fated Foundry Wharf development, are being touted as "high-end riverside apartments in Manchester", while the Knight Knox International website is claiming that one third of the flats in Phase One are already sold.

Knight Knox is now also pushing flats at its proposed Adelphi Wharf blocks with no planning permission.

Salford Star readers have been in touch, stating they have been `spammed' with emails by the `Buy Association' promising "high-end riverside apartments in Manchester"comprised of "580 stunning apartments, set against the River Irwell's picturesque waterfront", with `assured completion due August 2016'.

Meanwhile, the Knight Knox website is claiming that 30% of the flats on sale in its Phase One are already `sold out'. However, the proposed development hasn't even been passed by Salford City Council's planning panel yet – which has the power to reject the application.

A video on the Adelphi Wharf page of the Knight Knox International website states that its `buy to let properties' are `designed to appeal to the investor market', adding that `the potential to earn a high return on a property is greater now than at the height of the boom'. And never mind affordable housing, the video explains that its blocks are `specifically designed to attract the best paying tenants'...

With Phase One already `30% sold out' and the `best paying tenants' being lined up to fill the flats, Knight Knox should find it difficult to argue that the scheme won't be `viable' if it has to pay fees when its planning application does eventually come before Salford Council's planning panel.

The last twelve months have seen a procession of developers pleading poverty; that their schemes for thousands of apartments wouldn't be `viable' if they had to paySection 106 planning obligations for things like open space, infrastructure and construction training; or if they had to provide affordable housing in line with Council policy.

The Council's Assistant Mayor for Planning recently called the practice "a public scandal of immense proportions", while rightly blaming the ConDem Government's National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) "that has seen Eric Pickles rig the planning regulations in order to deprive, to rob, local communities of its essential investment in order to line the pockets of landowners and developers" 

The proposed Adelphi Wharf development is on the same site as the ill fated Foundry Wharf scheme for a 27 storey apartment tower which imploded in 2010, leaving the site derelict. The planning permission for that scheme was granted in 2007, under the lastLabour Government, without any need to provide affordable housing. The only Section 106 agreement appeared to be for a `riverside walkway' enhancing the value of the developer's own project 

Meanwhile, the `X1 Media City, Manchester' development  still appears to have no planning permission, or Section 106 agreement or affordable housing in place, despite continuing to market its flats.

Developers Link To Failed Firm

A company behind a controversial bid to turn a derelict government building in Runcorn into flats has distanced itself from another firm that went bust under a cloud of anger from investors and the Advertising Standards Agency in 2013.

Absolute Living Developments (ALD) has applied to convert East Lane House next to Runcorn Shopping Centre into 448 studio and single-bedroom flats.

On Friday, it confirmed to the Weekly News that it had taken over some part-completed developments from Fresh Start Living (FSL), which went into liquidation in 2013.

The company’s statement came after the Weekly News found loan documents lodged with Government business website Companies House relating to third party lender DS7 Ltd.

The forms showed that DS7 had loaned cash to ALD for the East Lane House project, with the terms of the contract granting DS7 Ltd power to appoint one of its officers as a receiver in the event that ALD goes into receivership.

The contract also gives DS7 Ltd the power to ‘take possession’ of the flats in the case of ALD’s demise.

Another form lists the recipient on a forwarding address for DS7 Ltd as ‘for the attention of Charles Cunningham’.

The Weekly News asked ALD whether this was linked to former Fresh Start Living director Charles Alexander Clunie Cunningham, who was the subject of a critical article by Daily Mirror investigative report Andrew Penman in September 2013.

Further documents on Companies House showed that a former Fresh Start Living director, Philip Wright, had been a director at ‘Absolute Living Developments (Orchid Point)’ – another company with a loan from DS7 Ltd.

ALD’s spokeswoman said Philip Wright had been on the board of a ‘vehicle’ that owned a FSL development site acquired by ALD.

He was replaced after the acquisition.

She said there was ‘no relation’ between ALD and DS7 Ltd.

Fresh Start Living went into liquidation in 2013.

Andrew Penman, of the Daily Mirror, said the firm had left investors fuming after they alleged they were left out of pocket having pumped thousands of pounds into properties renovated by FSL.

FSL was also investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after a complaint was made over the firm’s claim to have made a £4m profit. The ASA upheld the grievance.

The Business Desk reported in September 2013 that Stockport Council and Greater Manchester Fire And Rescue Service were taking separate actions over safety breaches.

An ALD spokeswoman said: “Absolute Living Developments have acquired a number of developments around the country.

“Some of these were part-completed developments from Fresh Start Living which were acquired when it went into administration, one being Orchid Point whereby Absolute Living Developments acquired the vehicle that owned the site.

“Philip Wright was on the board of the vehicle and was replaced when the acquisition completed – there is no other connection between Absolute Living Developments and Fresh Start Living.

“DS7 Limited is a lender to Absolute Living Developments on certain developments.”

The Weekly News tried to contact DS7 Ltd for comment.

Halton Borough Council’s development control committee is due to hold a ‘special meeting’ tonight to decide whether to allow ALD’s proposed conversion of East Lane House into flats.

The scheme has been blasted as ‘barmy’ by Halton Lea ward’s Cllr Dave Thompson.

ALD insists it will attract young professionals and key workers.

Empirical Property Group should be put into liquidation, the sooner the better. They failed to complete on Bispham House in Liverpool and have left tenants with a levy of payments to bring the building up to specification. Nobody can currently get a mortgage on the flats in the building which leave the flats impossible to sell. By blaming Law Firms they are simply passing the buck, as the blame fully lies at their door. There is a long list of uncompleted properties in their wake and a long history of failure on the ones that they have got anywhere near completing leaving investors out of pocket. The whole culture of EPG and Freshstart and any of their long list of associated companies is one of blame, anyone is to blame apart from them. They will do anything and everything to take investor money and do whatever it takes to get that money. Do not, whatever you do involve yourself with any of the companies in this group, you will ultimately lose money.

Colonnade House Construction Limited

The Debt 

CIK have been instructed to recover a debt of £122,261 owing from this company for air supply and extraction work carried out on Colonnade House in the Summer of 2012.

Colonnade House was converted into student apartments (PODS) in 2012 and is located at Sunbridge Road, Bradford, BD1 2LQ. It has been rebranded twice since then, first to The Fort and now to Summer Berry Residences,presumably to try and avoid bad financial press.

EPG Group 

The property group behind Colonnade House have serious bad debt form. The holding company is Empirical Property Group Limited - EPG (name changed from Fresh Start Holdings (Manchester) Limited in January 2013) which owned the company FSL Properties Colonnade Limited that owned Colonnade House. EPG was incorporated in February 2011.

The Directors of EPG are Charles Cunningham, Philip Wright and Christian Yates with Cunningham owning 10% of the shares and a Alan Pierce 90%.

Alan Pierce and Philip Wright have had previous property companies that have gone into compulsory liquidation, Wrightchoice Developments Limited (Company Number: 03768709) owing £4.2M and Pierce Properties Limited (Company No. 06578485). There is another individual Andrew Camilleri who has been involved but he was made bankrupt in 2011 for £9M and had to resign his directorships.

The group was fronted until recently by Fresh Start Living Limited (FSL) where Cunningham, Wright, Pierce and Camilleri were all Directors. The FSL acronym has been used in numerous company names within the group. Fresh Start Living went into compulsory liquidation in December 2013.

Colonnade House Company Structure

Like other properties purchased by EPG (there have been 15 or so similar to Colonnade House) there is a company that owns the freehold, a company for the contractors and a lettings/management company.

For Colonnade House they were as follows:

• FSL Properties Colonnade Limited (Incorporated August 2011) Directors: Philip Wright
• Colonnade House Construction Limited (Incorporated May 2012) Directors: Philip Wright then Paul Statham-Walker
• FSL Management Colonnade Limited (Incorporated May 2012) Directors: Philip Wright then Paul Statham-Walker
• Buy to Let Bradford LLP (Incorporated October 2013) Directors: Paul Statham-Walker

FSL Properties Colonnade Limited went into voluntary liquidation in June 2014.

Colonnade House Construction Limited and FSL Management Colonnade Limited are being dissolved by Companies House due to the two companies having never filed accounts. A commentary on Buy to Let Bradford will be made under Christian Yates's bio.

We understand that the main contractors to Colonnade House via Colonnade House Construction Limited, including our client, have not been paid and there is a view that there was no intention of ever paying them.

Colonnade House Value

There are 224 student apartments of which at least 52 have been sold on 125 year leases at an average value of £40,000.

The freehold was sold by FSL Properties Colonnade Limited in November 2012 to a London based property company called Four Daughters Limited for £773,760. It is not known at this stage who has the beneficial interest of the 224 leases but it is presumed that the imputed value of £9M (224 apartments @ £40,000) lies somewhere within the EPG Group, as does the cash from the sale of the freehold.

It should be noted that the net assets of EPG went from £2M in July 2012 to £23M (mostly fixed assets) in July 2013, which may account for the Colonnade House missing assets.

Other Similar Properties

It would appear that a property, Montgomery House of Demesne Road, Whalley Range, South Manchester, M16 8HP, has gone down the same route and one presumes that other properties in the group have had a similar fate.

• FSL Properties Montgomery Limited. Directors: Philip Wright
• XXX Construction Limited (Investigating name)
• FSL Management Montgomery Limited. Directors: Philip Wright

FSL Properties Montgomery Limited went into compulsory liquidation in January 2014.

FSL Management Montgomery Limited went into compulsory liquidation in January 2013.

Other potential sites are Empress Mill, Greenock, St Thomas, Victoria Halls and Ford Lane. 

Relevant Directors

They are Charles Cunningham, Philip Wright, Christian Yates and Paul Statham- Walker. There are approximately ~ 25 companies active in the group, all owned or influenced by EPG.

All these companies give a registered office of 7 Empress Street, Manchester, M16 9EN but this is a post drop. They actually all work from Suite 7C, 7th Floor, Blackfriars House, Parsonage Gardens, Manchester, M3 2JA.

Charles Cunningham (DOB Dec 1978)

Charles is the CEO of EPG and a 10% shareholder. His bio is well documented on the internet.

We are looking to prove in due course that he is a shadow director of the Colonnade group of companies.

Yes, I met him twice whilst we were chasing monies. It was him who offered other properties as equity, at their offices in Swinton at the time. Bxxxxxx was driving a S65 Mercedes, cost new £120K!

Cunningham is or was until recently a Director of ~ 15 companies within the group. Those with a bad debt track record are as follows:

• Fresh Start Living Limited - Compulsory Liquidation December 2013
• Empirical Property Group Limited (EPG) - Has recent CCJs
• Urban Blox Limited - Has recent CCJs (Resigned May 2014)
• EPG Construction Limited - Has recent CCJs (Resigned April 2014)
• Student & Affordable Property Limited - Forced to resign from this company and 2 other related SAP companies in October 2013. The people behind this company had loaned monies to EPG in 2012 and their comments were as follows:

I am aware of the appalling behaviour and financial mess caused by EPG and those connected to it. We are all one of a number of people who are suffering losses at the hands of this company. We have severed all connections with them other than unfortunately having an outstanding loan to them, which we made before we realised how dreadful their financial situation was. It remains to be seen how big our losses will become .I am afraid all I can do is look on helplessly from outside. I do hope that you manage to get recovery of what is due to you and your client.

Cunningham's current group defence is that EPG has a claim against lawyers on the Trafford Press property of between £5M and £250M. No evidence can be found for the validity of this claim and one would suggest that it is just a flanker to buy time.

Christian Yates

Christian is the only non-executive Director of EPG and has an impeccable bio and it is thus confusing as to why he should have blotted his CV with the EPG crowd.

shorecap.gg/media-centre/shore-capital-appoints-senior-adviser

jonathanfry.co.uk/our-people/

We are unsure of his role within the EPG group but he does have a financial interest noted on the website of Buy to let Bradford LLP, where Paul Statham-Walker is the Director, with a postcode that matches the 7 Empress Street address, as follows:

Buy To Let Bradford is an exclusive Investment Agent acting on behalf of Cherif Investment Properties Limited and Lord Beaverbrook. The Development, The Fort (see top of page under The Debt paragraph), stands as a monolithic landmark overlooking the City of Bradford, offering great student accommodation PODS in a strong location. Student investment from £39,950....

Now Christian Yates is a Director of Cherif Investment Properties Limited. We are currently investigating whether this company has a financial interest in the apartments at Colonnade House or indeed in any of the other properties owned by EPG.

Paul Statham-Walker (DOB April 1980)

Paul is a Director of 8 companies within the EPG group. Evidence would suggest he is made a Director when the company is deemed worthless and being let go. His role within EPG would appear to be that of a sales person, having served previously as a Corporal in the Army.

He goes by the name Paul Statham-Walker, Paul Statham and Paul Walker. His most recent Directorship is at Urban Blox where he calls himself Paul Walker and has changed his DOB to July 1980, presumably to hide his past Directorships as Paul Statham-Walker. 

On the Urban Blox website he calls himself Paul Statham. 

urbanblox.co.uk/contact/ 

His relevant companies with a bad debt footprint are as follows: 

• Trafford Press Construction Limited - Compulsory Liquidation August 2013
• Freshstart Living (No 9) Limited - Voluntary Liquidation February 2014
• Colonnade House Construction Limited - Has recent CCJs
• Empress Mill Construction Limited - Has recent CCJs. Camilleri was a Director until 2013.
• Urban Blox Limited - Has recent CCJs

Philip/Phillip Wright (DOB June 1958)

Philip is a Director of EPG and of another ~ 25 companies within the EPG group. His bio is well documented on the internet. His relevant companies with a bad debt footprint are as follows:

• Wrightchoice Developments Limited - Voluntary Liquidation March 2011
• FSL Management Montgomery Limited - Compulsory Liquidation January 2013
• FSL Properties Trafford Press Limited - Administration September 2013
• Fresh Start Living Limited - Compulsory Liquidation December 2013 (Resigned July 2013)
• FSL Properties Montgomery Limited - Compulsory Liquidation January 2014
• Freshstart Living (No 9) Limited - Voluntary Liquidation February 2014 (Resigned July 2013)
• FSL Properties Colonnade Limited - Voluntary Liquidation June 2014
• FSL Properties Victoria Halls Limited - Has recent CCJs
• FSL Properties Ford Lane Limited - Has recent CCJs
• FSL Management Ford Lane Limited - Has recent CCJs
• FSL Properties Greenock Limited - Has recent CCJs
• FSL Management Greenock Limited - Has recent CCJs
• FSL Properties St Thomas Limited - Has recent CCJs
• FSL Management St Thomas Limited - Has recent CCJs
• Empirical Property Group Limited (EPG) - Has recent CCJs

We are currently investigating Middle England Developments/ Penlake Limited after receiving complaints from investors.

Please visit: http://middleenglanddevelopmentsdebt.wordpress.com

Although they now claim to be at 7 Empress Street, Old Trafford, Manchester, M27 8FF, I could find no sign of them there. The telephone number is 0845 259 1904. Email: contact@empiricalproperty.com Or you can get them at urbanblox on 0845 653 1029. Email: contact@urbanblox.co.uk

My experience:

Pre-contract, Fresh Start Living Limited misrepresented to me they owned property but didn't; They also misrepresented the timescale to exchange and completion.  On the basis of their misrepresentations I paid a deposit.

FSL took my deposit money of £xx,xxx without supplying property and have not returned my deposit for over 2 YEARS.. They have no valid excuse. They ignore all contact requests.

They obtained my deposit by deception and simply refused to give it back despite obtaining a court order to repay it (CCJ) and sending the Bailifs round.

They have numerous active CCJ's against them (Source: http://Bizzy.co.uk)

A few helpful but negative posts have been filtered out despite being FACTUAL. I would be surprised if this post isn't removed.

Fresh Start Living Limited have been taken to court many times for not paying their debts i.e. at Luton Court on 15th January 2013.  Google this case or you can phone the court to confirm this.

An investor has applied to the courts to have the company shut down.

The One Show on the BBC are doing an exposé very soon and will be filming in Manchester THIS FRIDAY.  If you have been a victim and lost money to Fresh Start Living please contact the BBC One Show and help protect further victims by raising awareness.

BBC Contact: mark.rainsforth@bbc.co.uk

Although they now claim to be at 7 Empress Street, Old Trafford, Manchester, M27 8FF, I could find no sign of them there. The telephone number is 0845 259 1904. Email: contact@empiricalproperty.com Or you can get them at urbanblox on 0845 653 1029. Email: contact@urbanblox.co.uk

A LONDON property developer is behind a bid to wind up Salford buy-to-let specialist FreshStart Living.

Roger Walters, chief executive of Supercity UK which operates three aparthotels in the capital, is chasing FreshStart over a £20,000 deposit he paid on 10 flats at a proposed FreshStart student scheme in Nottingham.

He says the scheme is now not going ahead and he wants his money back, but FreshStart insists the development is on track, although it has been delayed.

The company was planning to convert a 30,000 sq ft office building at the Victoria Shopping Centre into 157 student apartments in time for the 2012-13 academic year.

Mr Walters said: “They didn’t own the property and they never bought it so there was no chance of developing it so I asked for my money back, and they just don’t give it back, it’s incredible, they just don’t.”

Mr Walters issued a statutory demand, which gives a debtor 21 days to pay, and then issued a winding-up petition which was heard in London on Monday. The case was adjourned to give both sides time to submit evidence.

FreshStart’s chief executive Charlie Cunningham said it was “rubbish” that the Nottingham development had been abandoned. “We’ve exchanged contracts which makes us the beneficial owner and we’re going through the planning process to change it into student accommodation. It’s taken much longer than we hoped it would but there’s no question of the scheme not going ahead.”

He added: “He’s reserved six units and is contractually obliged to buy the units and complete. We’ve offered him a number of alternatives but that hasn’t come to anything.”

But Mr Walters told TheBusinessDesk he was not interested in other developments. He said: “I’m not going to let it go, I’m going to take it all the way. They’re not denying they have the money, they even offered to move it to another scheme. They’re not denying it, they just don’t want to give it back.”

A developer for 30 years, Mr Walters said he wanted to “let someone else do the developing” and has also put a deposit of £75,000 down on six flats at FreshStart’s Trafford Press scheme in Manchester which has not yet been completed.

as featured in businessdesk.com by James Graham

Notice Code: 2450

I lost money to this shower...now it appears from this report in the British edition of the Financial Times that I am not alone. BE WARNED

Student pods attacked over failure to deliver promised returns

By Stephen Wilmot

Student pods – the latest buy-to-let vogue, where investors buy a single room in a development – have been attacked for failing to deliver promised double-digit returns.

Attracted by guaranteed returns of up to 10 per cent and prices as low as £30,000 – substantially less than an equivalent buy-to-let property – investors have snapped up pods across the UK.

But because the properties are small, typically 12-13 square metres, the bite-sized asking prices belie high underlying property values. A £59,995 pod investment on the market in Canterbury, for example, costs more than twice the average for the city on a per square foot basis, according to Hometrack, a housing analytics company.

Student-accommodation blocks have performed strongly, with annual returns of 9 per cent last year, according to estate agent Knight Frank. Rents have been buoyed by the growth of students from Asia, who typically prefer purpose-built housing.

The strong market has attracted sophisticated investors, including private equity funds and overseas institutions. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, the property group, transaction in the UK student accommodation market was close to £1.9bn last year, more than double the value in 2011.

But there are fears that some developers are using the buoyant market to sell inappropriate products to private investors.

Kavita Bachada, an employment lawyer, bought a pod in Liverpool for £42,000 in 2011, tempted by a 10 per cent yield guaranteed for 12 months. “There was nothing out there . . . that offered anything like these returns,” she said.

While the income flowed as expected for 18 months, it has since dried up. Middle England Developments, the developer, has now asked pod investors for a three-month “payment holiday”. It blamed a surge in vacancies caused by tuition fees, a clampdown on foreign students and a wave of development in the city.

One problem is that the eye-catching guaranteed yields are typically subsidised by the developer, so income from rents, and property resale value, may fall when the guarantee runs out.

Another developer, FreshStart Living, last month agreed a settlement to hand over a total of £131,000 in unpaid rent to 70 investors. It has since stopped selling pods to individual investors.

“The guarantees are rarely sustainable,” said Charlie Cunningham, its chief executive. “Investors are often left with a useless property from which they will not only struggle to generate a reasonable income but they will also struggle to resell.”

Mr Cunningham called for tighter regulation of the market, noting “people investing in property are not that sophisticated”.

There is now a single collective forum to enable Investors in any of the Freshstart Living/FSL companies to voice any concerns/problems we may have had. 

Please use it, and publish the following website address wherever you can. Hopefully, this will prove beneficial for the many people who have invested money in fresh start living property investments. 

www.freshstartlivinginvestors.blogspot.com

also, 

direct email : mardwick@inbox.com