In the High Court of Justice (Chancery Division)

Companies Court     No 2684 of 2008

In the Matter of UKLI LIMITED

(Company Number 04656772)

and in the Matter of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

and in the Matter of the Insolvency Act 1986

A Petition to wind up the above-named Company of UKLI Limited, Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, Mayfair, London W1J 6BD, presented on 1 April 2008 by the Financial Services Authority, 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, will be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL, on 26 May 2008, at 1030 hours (or as soon thereafter as the Petition can be heard).

(Via The London Gazette. To read the full story, click here)
(See also: FSA’s land firm petition at getwokingham.co.uk)
(See also: Guardian - Capital letters 26 April 2008)

(18)

A company marketing plots of land as an investment opportunity has been wound-up by the High Court in Manchester following investigations by both the Companies Investigation Branch (CIB) of the Insolvency Service and the Financial Services Authority.

From February 2005 to November 2006, Sinclair Deville Limited (SDV), offered "investment opportunities" to private individuals under a scheme in which fields purchased by the company were divided into plots of land and then sold for investment purposes.

SDV was described in promotional literature as a land banking business aimed at identifying and securing prime undeveloped land before planning consent is granted. Land acquired was divided into smaller plots and sold to private individuals with a view to planning permission being obtained for the site as a whole. Investors were recruited on the basis that the value of a site would increase substantially if planning permission was obtained.

(Via Government News Network. To read the full story, click here)

(12)

A director of a property fund management company based in London has been disqualifed for four years following an investigation by Companies Investigation Branch of the Insolvency Service.

Mr Baljinder Chohan was the founding director and controlling shareholder of UK Property Fund Managers Limited ("UKPFM"), a company set up by Mr Chohan to co-ordinate the launch of a property fund and to raise up to £1billion equity for that fund. The company was based at the office of an associated company under Mr Chohan's control, UKLI Limited.

(Via Business Credit Management UK. To read the full story, click here)
(See also: UK fund manager disqualified via PropertyWeek.com)

(31)

The BBC carries a story about a share scam perpetrated against British investors.

A father and daughter have been accused of tricking 15,000 mostly elderly British citizens out of more than $70m (£34m) by selling worthless shares.

Investigators allege Paul Gunter, 58, and daughter Zibiah, 25, from Florida, sold fake shares in 50 dormant firms...

... The BBC's Andy Gallacher, in Miami, says it is thought the Gunters hijacked the identities of the dormant, publicly traded companies and used high-pressure sales techniques to sell worthless shares to British investors.

(7)

Insolvency Bulletin

LAND INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
LAND INTERNATIONAL (UK) LIMITED
LAND INTERNATIONAL (MARKETING) LIMITED
LAND INTERNATIONAL (FAR EAST) LIMITED

The Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has presented a petition in the High Court to wind up the above companies in the public interest.

The companies were involved in the acquisition of agricultural land, which was then sub-divided and sold to the public as an investment.

(Via Government News Network. To read the full story, click here)

(41)

Hambrook & Greenstock have now been put into compulsory liquidation and the official receivers are keen to hear from everyone who bought land from H&G.

If you are an H&G plot owner, please either:

• Leave a comment below including a working email address OR
• Send us an email using the email link at the bottom left of every page on this site.

We will pass your details on to the H&G receivers.

(14)

The Plot Owners Google Group, which we set up for plot owners to meet and discuss tactics, has recently been abused by a small number of individuals to post spam messages.

All spam messages have been removed, the individuals responsible have been banned and posts from future new members will be moderated, to keep the group free from new spam.

We hope that this will make the group more useful for bona fide members and we encourage our readers to visit the group and to take full advantage of it in future.

(2)

Tony Hetherington replies to a reader's letter on land banking.

A Swiss company that sold land in Southern England as part of a scheme which left investors owning useless plots bought at inflated prices has been ordered into compulsory liquidation.

Hambrook & Greenstock AG ran a land banking business selling plots of undeveloped land to UK investors at three sites at Sible Hedingham, Marlow, and Chalford. The company bought the land for just over £600,000. Some 750 plots were subsequently sold to investors for £5 million.

The petition to wind up Hambrook & Greenstock AG, in the public interest, was presented following an investigation by the Department of Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR).

BERR Minister Pat McFadden said:

"This should send a message loud and clear to fraudsters who think they can rip people off and get away with it. These people used a slick sales pitch to swindle honest investors who ended up out of pocket.

"We're determined to crack down on these scams. The public should be wary of aggressive land sales offers."

(Via The Central Office of Information. To read the full story, click here)

Investors in United Land Holdings - the "landbanking" company whose stand at the Ideal Home Exhibition 2006 was shut down by the Department of Trade - have learned they have no legal title to land they thought they had bought.

In all, investors paid in £5m - around £10,000 to £15,000 for each small plot of agricultural land they purchased, convinced by ULH that it could get planning permission for housing, so multiplying their money many times. Now they have nothing, not even a narrow strip of farmland.

(Via Guardian Money. To read the full story, click here)

Four companies involved in selling plots of agricultural land to the public have been wound up by the High Court following an investigation by Companies Investigation Branch (CIB) of the Insolvency Service.

Agricultural land was acquired at sites at Lyneham and Melksham, Wiltshire and Chicksands, Bedfordshire. The land was divided up by grids at Melksham and Chicksands and sold in similar size plots, whereas at Lyneham the plots were irregularly shaped. Altogether, some 470 individuals invested in the scheme, in plots of land being sold for an estimated £10,000 each.

CIB's investigation revealed serious concerns on the manner of the companies operations. These included the marketing of the land as a viable alternative to traditional forms of investment; the holding out of Land Investment Association (LIA), a company incorporated and run by individuals involved in United Land Holdings (ULH), as the land investment's independent watchdog; the editing of the West Wiltshire District Plan in ULH's material, so as to create a misleading impression of the opportunities for expansion in the Melksham area and the marketing and sale of land prior to the acquisition of the freehold.

(Via Government News Network. To read the full story, click here)

(44)