SINGAPORE - The courts have granted a time extension - for the third time - to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) to continue its investigations into landbanking firm Profitable Plots, while awaiting the expert report from an accounting firm.
Representing the CAD, the state prosecutor argued in the Subordinate Courts yesterday that extending the investigation period was justified due to the large amount of investments involved. The court heard that complaints have now risen to 304 with investments totalling S$30 million.
(Via TodayOnline. To read the full story, click here)
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has taken its fight against illegal land banking to YouTube, uploading a four-minute video onto the site to warn investors of the dangers of the schemes.
FSA head of retail enforcement Jonathan Phelan appears in thevideo, and appeals for those contacted by land banks to speak to the regulator. (Via CityWire. To read the full story, click here)
Six companies that mis-sold green belt land for investment to the public have been wound-up in the High Court on public interest grounds following an investigation by Company Investigations ("CI") of the Insolvency Service.
The investigation found that Stowford Place Investments Ltd, ASA Global Investments Limited, Prinston Estates Limited, Alpha Capital Investments (London) Limited, Greenacre Global Partners Limited and Vinci Trading Ltd had all seriously misled the public as to the development prospects of the plots of land they offered for investment and had operated with a lack of commercial probity.
The Financial Services Authority has secured a £920,000 payment for victims of a £11 million land bank in a High Court ruling.
A Hugh Court judge has ruled against Stephen Watkins, who traded as Consolidated Land UK, confirming he sold land illegally to UK consumers and ordered him to make an interim repayment of £920,000 to his victims.
(Via CityWire. To read the full story, click here)
Four men have been charged with conspiracy to defraud following police enquiries into four companies believed to have been involved in land banking.
Omar Esphari, Dean Straker, Stefan Mitchell and Derial White have all been charged before being released on bail and are due to appear at City Magistrates on 23 June.
The charges, the first to relate to alleged land banking, follow enquiries into Pemberton International, Eldon International, Willow International and Allied Investment Management.
(Via CityWire. To read the full story, click here)
Secretary of state for business Vince Cable has applied for the winding-up of six suspected land banking firms in the High Court.
The High Court has appointed a provisional liquidator for Stowford Place Investments, ASA Global Investments, Prinston Estates, Alpha Capital Investments (London), Greenacre Global Partners and Vinci Trading following confidential enquiries carried out by the investigative arm of the Insolvency Service.
(Via CityWire. To read the full story, click here)
Land Registry has published a guide warning against so-called land banking investment schemes which are often advertised as offering big returns on investments in land.
The government department says many investors have handed over thousands of pounds for land that has little or no chance of being developed.
Plots of land are offered for sale, often online, and sometimes with the claim that there will be huge returns when planning permission is obtained for housing or other development. But the land is usually in areas protected from development by planning law.
The Administrators of UKLI have posted on the UKLI home page a useful and informative summary of the situation regarding UKLI, the rights of plot owners and the options open to them.
Unfortunately, this summary is posted on the UKLI web site as an image and without alternate text and is thus not fully accessible. We have therefore decided to reproduce it as text and in full here.
Lee Manning and Carlton Siddle of Deloitte were appointed as Joint Administrators of UKLI Limited (the Company) on 22 April 2008.
UKLI was involved in ‘landbanking’, the purchase of large areas of undeveloped land which were then subdivided into plots and sold on to private investors, with UKLI retaining some of the land itself. UKLI would then seek to gain planning permission on the sites although, to date, planning permission has not been obtained on any site.
The circumstances leading to the Administration followed a petition to wind the Company up by the Financial Services Authority (“FSA”), on the grounds of public interest as UKLI had operated as a collective investment scheme without FSA authorisation.
(Via creditman.biz. To read the full story, click here)
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)
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.
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)
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)
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)
Three companies involved in selling plots of agricultural land to the public have been wound up in the High Court, following an investigation by the Companies Investigation Branch (CIB) of the Insolvency Service.
Townfield Land Investments Limited acquired agricultural land near Southwold in Suffolk under an option agreement with a local farmer. It was then marketed to the public by Libertas Land Limited, by sub-dividing the land into plots of 2,000 square feet at a price of around £9,000 per plot.
(Via Government News Network. To read the full story, click here)
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has presented petitions in the High Court to wind up Townfield Land Investments Limited ("Townfield") and Libertas Land Limited ("Libertas") in the public interest. Townfield carried on business as a land banking company selling plots of farmland, whilst Libertas provided marketing, sales and administration services for land being sold by land banking companies.
The petitions to wind up the companies were presented following an investigation carried out by Companies Investigation Branch under section 447 of the Companies Act 1985 (as amended).
(Via Government News Network. To read the full story, click here)
A company marketing plots of land on behalf of a "land-bank" business has been wound-up by the High Court in Manchester following an investigation by the Companies Investigation Branch (CIB) of the Insolvency Service.
From August 2005 to July 2006, Actionjack Limited, using the trading style "English Land Partnerships" (ELP), carried out a telesales campaign recruiting private individuals to a scheme in which parcels of land were purchased for investment purposes. ELP is described in promotional literature as a land bank business aimed at identifying and securing prime undeveloped land before planning consent is granted. The land is then divided into smaller plots and sold to private individuals with a view to planning permission for the whole site being obtained. Investors were recruited on the basis that the value of a site may increase tenfold if planning permission was obtained.
CIB's investigation found that the company had been offering investment advice to the public despite Actionjack and its sales staff having had no previous experience or qualifications to advise members of the public on purchasing land as an investment.
(Via Government News Network. To read the full story, click here)
Braintree District Council is advising people to exercise caution before buying land through internet "landbanking" schemes. These schemes offer plots of land for sale with promises of huge profits for buyers when the land gets planning permission for development, but there is no realistic prospect of permission being granted for development in the foreseeable future.
A BBC "Inside Out" investigation found that the websites often provide inaccurate and misleading information about the local area and the likelihood of the land being developed, investors are convinced into paying over the odds for sites that have little or no development potential, paying very high prices for land of little value.
The Financial Services Authority has published information on your rights to recover money or claim compensation from land bankers operating unauthorised collective investment schemes.
Your rights
Unauthorised collective investment schemes are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). However, if you have entered an agreement to participate in a Landbanking scheme which is an unauthorised collective investment scheme, you may have a statutory right to recover your money and compensation for any consequent losses. This is because agreements which an unauthorised person enters into while operating, advising on or arranging for persons to participate in a collective investment scheme cannot necessarily be enforced. You should contact the operator of any such scheme and/or a legal adviser to find out about your rights.
There is also a UK hotline number for you to call to report any land banking scheme which you believe may be an unauthorised collective investment - 0845 606 1234.
If calling from outside the UK, call +44 20 7066 1000 (FSA main switchboard).
Greg Mulholland, Liberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West, has tabled an early day motion calling on the government to recognise the seriousness of this problem and the need for a co-ordinated and joined up Government response, involving the Financial Services Authority, Office of Fair Trading and Department for Communities and Local Government.
PropertySCAM would like to encourage MPs of all parties to support this campaign and sign this early day motion.
See the full text of Greg Mulholland's early day motion here. See also Julie Kirkbride's early day motion of 2004 here.
We are grateful to Greg Mulholland, Liberal Democrat MP for Leeds North West, for his permission to publish in full a letter he wrote recently to Nigel Walter, Managing Director of UK Land Investments.
The Department of Trade and Industry has begun proceedings to wind up an investment company involved in a controversial practice known as land banking.
The procedure involves selling off plots of land as investment opportunities on the back of expected planning permissions.
This action, targeting United Land Holdings (ULH), is believed to be first time the government has gone to court over the issue.
The move was partly prompted by unsubstantiated claims made by the company over the likelihood of major residential development on a site outside the Wiltshire town of Melksham.
(Via planningportal.gov.uk. To read the full story, click here)
Pursuant to section 162A of the Fair Trading Act 1999 the Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria has issued the following warning to the public:
The Director of Consumer Affairs warns Victorian consumers about the activities of EUROPEAN LAND SALES PARTNERSHIP, also known as EUROPEAN LAND SALES AUSTRALIA, ELS AUSTRALIA and EUROPEAN LAND SALES.
The business, operated by UK-based partner STEPHEN CLEEVE purchases tracts of rural land in England and then on-sells small plots of that land to Australian consumers. Sales are promoted on the basis that the market value of the individual plots will appreciate considerably once permission to construct housing on the land is granted. The business also claims to have a proven "track record" in securing residential planning permission.
Consumer Affairs Victoria is of the view that European Land Sales Partnership grossly misrepresents the likelihood of planning permission being granted and its experience and skill in obtaining such permission. To date, planning permission has not been granted in respect of any of the tracts of land sold or promoted by the business to Australian consumers.
(Via Consumer Affairs Victoria Resource Centre. To read the full story, click here)
Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) has introduced the Sale of Green Belt Land Bill.
The Bill aims to outlaw land banking, the practice of buying up green belt and and selling it on at a profit.
Introducing the Bill, Greg Mulholland said:
"All too often it is merely a get-rich scam that is being peddled by fly-by-night companies, set up to carry out the scurrilous process of land banking'."
The subdivision and sale of small plots of agricultural land is a matter of widespread public concern. The issue was debated in the House of Commons on 8 December 2003. The Government has been considering the scope for taking action, and officials have met representatives of local authorities to discuss possible options.
The subdivision of fields gives rise to local concern because it can give a false impression that development of the land is bound to occur, regardless of any Green Belt status, planning guidance or development plan policies for the area.
Local planning authorities and amenity societies could consider advertising, public notices or use of the internet to give prospective plot purchasers a more realistic idea of the true development potential of their plots.
The subdivision and sale of small plots of agricultural land is a matter of widespread public concern. The issue was debated in the House of Commons on 8 December 2003. The Government has been considering the scope for taking action, and officials have met representatives of local authorities to discuss possible options.
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