Is This Why There Are So Many PPMG Guises?
By admin | September 9th, 2010 | Category: Past Articles | 14 commentsFollowing on from yesterday’s post where we asked “Andy & Lee” to confirm whether Peverel Property Management Group (we focus on group, because it covers all of their guises) – receive any referral fees. Which to date didn’t hasn’t received a reply from “Andy & Lee”.
We’ll let visitors make their own mind up over the possibilities of why they haven’t answered these questions.
So today, we thought we’d share a bit more information on why we believe that PPMG have so many trading aliases.
As we all know, Peverel OM is the traditional part of the Peverel Group and we believe that this was setup by Tony Billson and now employees his son Andrew Billson to run Peverel OM and Solitaire Property Management as the Operational Director.
In 2008 – “Andy” (PPMG Online Feedback Manager) – reported that Solitaire Property Management had been acquired by Peverel OM and allegedly Peverel OM members are not the greatest fans of Solitaire.
If true, why would Peverel OM members not be the greatest fans? Well, could it be due to the fact that Solitaire isn’t generating the revenues that they had anticipated when they acquired SPM?
In addition to this, because SPM has a relatively bad reputation (why would TTAS have been established) – has this been detrimental to PPMG and their business?
Is this why it would appear that SPM and County Estate Management have been broken up / merged as part of another PPMG brand, because are they either running at a loss due to falling revenues or because the bad publicity could have had an effect on developments that PPMG are charging high management fees for?
After all, if these factors were to be true – it would lead to financial trouble for PPMG surely?
With the above in mind, we have carried out extensive research of developments that have / are currently being built and discovered that some of the ‘guises’ that PPMG trade as, have different responsibilities.
For example, leaseholders / residents of properties that “Consort Property Management” are the management company for, generally pay more service charges for their properties, because these developments tend to be the more “exclusive” properties / developments”.
The same also applies to Stonedale and Pembertons, which means that because the owners of these properties in theory “can afford larger fees” – they get charged more.
Solitaire Property Management, are / were responsible for the ‘run of the mill’ developments – that many of us live in. (No offence intended)
Peverel OM / Peverel Retirement – are responsible for the retirement sector, an area that has a regular turnover of properties (for the obvious reason), to which Peverel have taken advantage and found a way of charging ‘extras’ such as the exit fee to make more money.
After all, who can argue with PPMG – given the fact that the relatives of the person who lived in these properties will be oblivious to how PPMG run and assume that it is normal to pay these fees.
This is just an example of how three of the guises trade, but there is a common theme – that surely can’t not be applicable:
The same services are required for each development? (with the exception of a few extras)
The same insurances also required? (admittedly subject to the cost of the development, costs may be higher)
Therefore, why must owners of alleged “exclusive” properties, have to pay more than others, when the services that need to be provided are the same?
The many aliases, also helps to deflect bad publicity that could affect the PMC in question.
After all TTAS was mainly focused on Solitaire Property Management, until it became apparent of the inter-linked companies and we decided to focus on The Truth About Solitaire & Peverel Group Companies (including Consensus Business Group).
Is this also why PPMG are not very happy with us, having published a list of the PPMG group of companies – to finally make it public knowledge that all these different guises were the same company?
Finally, with the above in mind – we also believe that last year PPMG lost over 500 developments and based on some of the messages we have received from people going through LVT’s / RTM’s – this figure is likely to increase this year.
From new our building has been managed by OM. OM was bought by Peverel around the year 1999/2000. From the work of Carlex we discovered last year that the shenanigans practiced by Peverel Retirement also applied to us. From TTAS we learned that they also applied to Solitaire.
Appropriate for TTAS.
“the evidence I shall give shall be the truth, the whole truth”
We have been told that Solitaire was taken over by Peverel but I’m not sure this is the WHOLE truth.
At the end of July a newbie (apologies but I have forgotten your name) posted an extremely interesting announcement from 07/07/2006.
http://www.advfn.com/news_Directorate-Change_16057653.html
This means that the Consensus Business Group of Vincent Tchenguiz bought Solitaire in 2006.
Now look at this article in the Financial Times from 08/06/2007 at the time Vincent Tchenguiz bought Peverel.
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2007/06/08/5071/vincent-tchenguiz-breaks-new-ground/
It may be legally true to say that Peverel bought Solitaire but it is not the WHOLE truth. In fact the owner of Solitaire bought Peverel a year later, and not the other way round.
Try reading Property Week from 30/3/2007
http://www.propertyweek.com/%C2%A3500m-tchenguiz-resi-takeover/3083955.article
Solitaire may have been re-organised in 2008 but it certainly wasn’t bought then.
Admin, I think “Andy” (…ooops! Sorry i meant Lee!) in the past has said that there’s nothing sinister about the Group structure of CBG and underlying PMCs – I think we ALL know the real TRUTH, which you have highlighted here again, well done!
Also I can’t directly comment on Peverel as a PMC as my property is not (‘directly’) managed by them (it’s Solitaire for me!) However since the ‘acquisition’ my comments have always been directed at the entire Group as from what I have seen and gather all the companies within the group are as bad as each other and operate in effectively the same way!? If Peverel OM, the original and ‘traditional part’ of the business was ‘good’ then why did they not take these ‘good’ practices over to Solitaire when they acquired them? Instead of what appears to have happened and the Solitaire ‘bad’ practices have taken over the whole group!? Maybe the thought of being able to make a quick and easy profit for little or no work was just too great for the ‘good guys’ to resist (…if there were ever any ‘good guys’ in the first place?!)
From all that I’ve read, seen with my own eyes and been witnessed to most PMCs are ‘on the make’ is some form or another, and why not, every company needs to make a profit to operate! That’s understood by all of us. It’s whether these profits have been made fairly, ethically and within reason that’s the point of contention! Excessive Insurance Premiums, Inflated Invoices, Kick-backs, Exit Fees, Sublet Fees, Invoices for work that has never been done, Most of the work being given to ‘associated’ or even directly owned companies,…this list is endless!
BTW 500 Developments is, I hope, just the tip of the iceberg! Well done to everyone who has managed to go RTM, as always any tips and advice on successful RTM processes are always welcome.
Just to add that Peverel OM, now OM Property Management, are not only responsible for retirement properties. My development has allways been managed by them and is a new “standard” development.
Apologies Bushbrother.
I can see that my posting reads like we are a retirement property. We are not-just a regular ‘standard’ development like yourselves.
Nirmal
After Peverel bought OM in 1999 our service charges suddenly took off like a rocket. Our insurance doubled in the first three years of Peverel ownership and cleaning increased by a third. Remember that Peverel was owned by an American company that was investigated by the Senate for unethical business practices. If you want to get a feel for how things look for our American cousins try
http://blog.dlcharles.com/2010/01/07/part-2-of-beneath-the-veil-of-holiday-retirement-corpfortress.aspx
So while OM may have been not brilliant but reasonable, Peverel OM absolutely never has been. This is why it always makes me laugh when I read that Solitaire standard is being improved to Peverel OM standards. The only solution is RTM. Get working.
We have finally appointed a New local managing agents who took control of our development on 1 august ,though solitaire are still trying to claim outstanding money from us even though our new PM company say that any debt on the development is now for them too deal with and NOT to pay solitaire!
does anyone know where we stand on this issue as i say solitaire are No longer in control of our development and we have conformation of this from estates & managment ??
any advice on this is apreciated!
Neil,
Thanks for the information in your first post which again has proved VERY useful in helping to try and unravel a bit further the tangled web that is Solitaire / Peverel / CBG!
Here’s what I’ve got: From your link to the Directorate Change report I noticed that “Graham Shapiro and Harvey Shulman step down as joint managing directors but remain as directors…”
Just in case this information goes astray(!) I think it would be worth re-producing this publically available (as at 09-Sep-2010) information from the above link here on TTAS in full as it contains some other useful information too, including company listings (and as this thread is about “PPMG Guises” I think directly relevant,) so here goes (and forgive me but it’s quite long but as I said hopefully useful!):
“Directorate Change
Date : 07/07/2006 @ 17:37
Source : UK Regulatory (RNS & others)
Directorate Change
RNS Number:8922F
Solitaire Group PLC
07 July 2006
Solitaire Group plc
(“Solitaire” or the “Company”)
Directorate Change
The Company is today pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Rayden, Ian Rapley, Michael Gaston, William Procter, Christopher McGill, Sidney Khadhouri and Mark Sandiforth, all of whom are employees of members of the Consensus group of companies, to the board of Solitaire. Graham Shapiro and Harvey Shulman step down as joint managing directors but remain as directors. Paul Rayden is the new chief executive officer.
Enquiries:
Solitaire Group plc 020 8449 6125
Graham Shapiro,
Consensus Business Group 020 7355 7777
Christopher McGill
KBC Peel Hunt 020 7418 8900
David Anderson
Additional Information:
In accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules, the following information in relation to the appointment of Paul Rayden (aged 43) is disclosed:
Current directorships and partnerships:
Auro Properties Ltd
Beechwood (Block B) Management Company Ltd
Beechwood (Block L) Management Company Ltd
Beechwood (Block M) Management Company Ltd
Beechwood (Block O) Management Company Ltd
Beechwood (Block S) Company Ltd
Broomfield (Bexley Heath) Management Ltd
Butterglade Limited
Coinpath Ltd
County Estate Management (Pubs) Ltd
County Estate Management Ltd
County Estate Management Supplies Ltd
County Estate Directors Services Ltd
County Estate Holdings Ltd
County Estate Property Management Ltd
County Estate Residential Management Ltd
County Estate Management (Taverns) Ltd
Cypher Trading Ltd
Diamond Store Ltd
Goldtry Limited
GRT Investments Ltd
Hampstead Theatre Ltd
Hillcourt Trading Ltd
Hyperhold Ltd
Lanchester Court Residents Association Company Ltd
Lansdown Properties Ltd
Longyard Management Ltd
Moreland Properties (UK) Ltd
Mountbatten Close Management Company Ltd
Opengold Ltd
Pub Invest 1 Ltd
Pub Invest 2 Ltd
Pub Invest 3 Ltd
Pubfolio (Management) Ltd
Pubfolio Ltd
Rayden Charitable Trust
Stutchbury Estate Management Ltd
Thackeray Property Services Ltd
Thurleigh Court Management Ltd
Treeview Trading Ltd
Willowacre Circle Ltd
Willowacre Ltd
Worthyhold Property Management Ltd
WMH(19) Limited
Directorships and partnerships held in the past five years:
Radco Holdings Limited
Radco Properties Limited
Radco Land Limited
In accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules, the following information in relation to the appointment of Ian Rapley (aged 42) is disclosed:
Current directorships and partnerships:
Gradeband Limited
Fairhold Holdings (2005) Limited
Fairhold Holdings (2003) Limited
Fairhold Holdings (2006) Appts Ltd
Dentberg Limited
Directorships and partnerships held in the past five years:
None
In accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules, the following information in relation to the appointment of Michael Gaston (aged 46) is disclosed:
Current directorships and partnerships:
Lansdown Properties Limited
Willowacre Limited
Willowacre Circle Limited
County Estate Property Management Limited
County Estate Residential Management Limited
County Estate Holdings Limited
Stutchbury Estate Management Limited
Estates & Management Limited
Directorships and partnerships held in the past five years:
None
In accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules, the following information in relation to the appointment of William Procter (aged 53) is disclosed:
Current directorships and partnerships:
Aeroblue Limited
Allard Property Company Limited
Attic Properties Limited
Backdean Limited
Backfield (2003) Limited
Backgain Limited
Backglaze Limited
Backgreen Limited
Backgrove Limited
Backlane Limited
Backreed Limited
Backrise Limited
Ballard Housing Company Limited
Brewhouse Lane Limited
Brookrace Limited
Buttonmagic Limited
Campback Limited
Charter Quay Limited
Chesterton Global Limited
Coleash Limited
County Estate Holdings Limited
County Estate Property Management Limited
County Estate Residential Management Limited
County Estate Management Secretarial Services Limited
Dawnhome Limited
Denetower Investment Properties Limited
Denetower Limited
Dentberg Limited
Devon Chalets Limited
Dewgift Limited
ERA (UK) Limited
Ergoman Limited
Estates & Management Limited
Fairhold (2001) Limited
Fairhold (2002) Limited
Fairhold (2003) Limited
Fairhold (Briardene) Limited
Fairhold (Huddersfield) Limited
Fairhold (Midlands) Limited
Fairhold Acquisitions Limited
Fairhold Finance Limited
Fairhold Haven Limited
Fairhold Holdings (2001) Limited
Fairhold Holdings (2003) Limited
Fairhold Holdings (2005) Limited
Fairhold Holdings (2006) Appts Limited
Fairhold Holdings Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.12) Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.11) Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.10) Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.2) Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.3) Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.4) Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.5) Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.6) Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.7) Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.8) Limited
Fairhold Homes (No.9) Limited
Fairhold Homes Investment (No 6) Limited
Fairhold Homes Investment (No.2) Limited
Fairhold Homes Investment (No.3) Limited
Fairhold Homes Investment (No.5) Limited
Fairhold Homes Investment (No.7) Limited
Fairhold Homes Investment (No.8) Limited
Fairhold Homes Investment (No.9) Limited
Fairhold Homes Investment Limited
Fairhold Homes Limited
Fairhold Limited
Fairhold of Scotland Limited
Farirhold Holdings (2006) Houses Limited
Farirhold Holdings (2006) RPI Limited
FIL Management Services Limited
Freddie Limited
Glenacre Management Limited
Gradeband Limited
Grantball Limited
Headbook Limited
Hillmount Estates Limited
Home Haven Limited
Homestead Insurance Services Limited
Ironhome Limited
Kensington Garden Square Management Company Limited
Lansdown Properties Limited
Levelbasic Limited
Linecroft Limited
Littonace (No.2) Limited
Littonace (No.3) Limited
Littonace (No.4) Limited
Littonace (No.5) Limited
Littonace (No.6) Limited
Littonace (No.7) Limited
Littonace HMF Limited
Littonace Properties Limited
Ljungberg Limited
London & Suburban Property Co Limited
Lylebourne Limited
Mediabasic Limited
Owners Provident Databases Limited
Owners Provident Land Bank Limited
Owners Provident Limited
Piervalley Limited
Realgate Limited
Regaldale Limited
Richlea Limited
Ringleaf Limited
RP Corporate Strategy Limited
RQ Block D Limited
RQ Block G Limited
Sidewalk Properties Limited
Solitaire Real Estate Holdings Limited
St George Wharf (Block D) Residential Limited
Staffbridge Limited
Stutchbury Estate Management Limited
The Residential Organisation Limited
The Tower, Putney Wharf Limited
Tilebourne Limited
Tyrecard Limited
Wenghold Limited
West Lancashire Investments Limited
Willowacre Circle Limited
Willowacre Limited
Directorships and partnerships held in the past five years:
Backline (2003) Limited
Backrange (2003) Limited
First Premium Finance Ltd
Hercules Property Services Limited
Insurance Financial Services Holdings Ltd
OP Secretaries Limited
Owners Provident Innovations Limited
RC (Holdings) Limited – Resigned 28.1.99
Rotch Gas Limited – Dissolved 11/3/03
In accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules, the following information in relation to the appointment of Christopher McGill (aged 46) is disclosed:
Current directorships and partnerships:
Quintel (UK) Limited
QS4 Limited
QS4 Group Limited
Solitaire Real Estate Holdings Limited
Directorships and partnerships held in the past five years:
None
In accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules, the following information in relation to the appointment of Sidney Khadhouri (aged 45) is disclosed:
Current directorships and partnerships:
38 Onslow Gardens Management Company Limited
Flying Tindall GP1 Limited
QS4 Group Limited
Quintell Technology Limited
Insurance Financial Services Holdings Limited
Solitaire Real Estate Holdings Limited
Directorships and partnerships held in the past five years:
None
In accordance with Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules, the following information in relation to the appointment of Mark Sandiforth (aged 39) is disclosed:
Current directorships and partnerships:
None
Directorships and partnerships held in the past five years:
None
There are no other matters which are required to be announced as required under Schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END”
Right now that’s done, and please remember that the information reproduced above is as of 07-Jul-2006 so it may well be out of date (but as you are about to find out it is not irrelevant!) So back to business…
“Graham Shapiro and Harvey Shulman step down as joint managing directors but remain as directors…” this got me thinking and I seem to remember from around this time, 2006 or so and before getting the usual nasty type of Solicitors letters from Solitaire even though our account was in dispute with them. They were chasing service charges even though these were disputed and adding astronomical legal fees! These were from a firm of Solicitors called “Graham Harvey Solicitors”! Now going back to that time, 2006, these were the Solicitors details taken from letters that I still have:
Graham Harvey
Bank Chambers
375 Regents Park Road
Finchley
London N3 1DE
Tel. 020 8349 8848
Fax 020 8349 8830
DX: 57289 Finchley 2
http://www.graham-harvey.co.uk/
One reason why I remember this so well from so long ago was that I had to pay a visit to:
Barnet Civil and Family Courts Centre
St. Marys Court
Regents Park Road
Finchley Central
London N3 1BQ
To file our papers in person when “Graham Harvey” issued court proceedings on behalf of Solitaire against us (remember our account was supposed to be in dispute!) It was interesting to see that the “Graham Harvey” Offices then were a mere stones throw away from the Court and I remember the bitter taste at having to walk past their offices to get to the court building to defend ourselves.
Also their office was not a great deal further from the Estates & Management, Molteno House, 302 Regents Park Road, Finchley, London N3 2JX office either! Noting also from above also that Michael Gaston and William Procter had current directorships and partnerships with E&M.
At the time I had no idea that Graham Shapiro and Harvey Shulman were directors (former or otherwise) of Solitaire and if I had then surely I would have realised that there would have been a conflict of interests in Solitaire using “Graham Harvey” for their legal counsel when their directors were partners of their appointed legal firm too!? Where was the independence? What was there to stop “Graham Harvey” inflating their legal fees (which as I have already said were astronomical!) to extract even more money for both companies, “Graham Harvey” and Solitaire from us!?
If you follow the old graham-harvey.co.uk link now you come to a new firm:
“GH Cornish LLP”
Who are “Specialists in Residential Property Conveyancing and Private Client advice…”
Now based at:
GH Cornish LLP
One The Parade
Monarch Way
Ilford
Essex IG2 7HR
Also at:
3rd Floor
Temple Chambers
3-7 Temple Avenue
London EC4Y 0HP
Tel: 020 8090 0800
Fax: 020 8090 1234
DX: 8957 Gants Hill
Where listed in the members of their team is:
“Harvey Shulman
Member
020 7625 0038
Temple Chambers and Ilford Office.
Business Development”
“Graham Shapiro” does not appear in the list of current (as at 09-Sep-2010) members of “GH Cornish LLP” but I think the ‘G’ in “GH Cornish LLP” gives another story to this particular company’s history and the fact that the http://www.graham-harvey.co.uk/ link forwards onto “GH Cornish LLP” means that there must be a direct link.
So even though “Graham Shapiro” doesn’t appear to be working directly for this new firm “GH Cornish LLP” it appears that he’s still active in the legal profession but now working more as a consultant (and thus isn’t mentioned in any firm’s members lists but I wonder how much time he spends in the “GH Cornish LLP” offices?)
Graham Ashley Shapiro, Solicitor,
Solicitor Ilford
Graham Harvey
1-7 Hainault Street
Lex House
Ilford
Essex IG1 4EL
graham-harvey.co.uk
And his consulting roles seem to be where he crops up most nowadays.
I also found this very useful post from SaxonHero on TTAS from March 16th, 2010 that I had originally missed at the time as we were on Holiday…
“Solitaire was a plc
Below is HISOTRIC
Harvey Barry Shulman LLM,
Joint Managing Director
Harvey Shulman is a solicitor who has been involved in property acquisition and management since 1988. He has been Joint Managing Director of Solitaire since its flotation on AIM in 1997. He is also a partner in Graham Harvey Solicitors, with which he has been associated since 1972, where he has specialised in property and commercial matters. He has held a number of board appointments.
Graham Ashley Shapiro LLB,
Joint Managing Director
Graham Shapiro is a solicitor and has been Joint Managing Director of Solitaire since its flotation on AIM in 1997. He has also been associated with Graham Harvey, principally as a partner (and now a consultant) since 1972, specialising in the acquisition and management of property and mortgage portfolios.”
So was Solitaire, back in the day using Solicitors who were run by former managing directors but still, at the time, directors of their company!? Surely not!
That would have been unethical!!
Again I have noticed a trend of disassociation with names that were, in the past DIRECTLY linked to Solitaire – i.e. the ‘GH’ in the new GH Cornish LLP obviously relates to “Graham Harvey”. I guess this is the vain attempt to conceal the truth behind the former business practices of these people. The more I learn about Solitaire, it’s guises and all these companies just makes me think that no-one at these companies should be trusted in any way!
This direct link between Solitaire and “Graham Harvey” also reinforces a recent conversation that I had with a surveyor who pretty much said something along the lines that originally ‘Solitaire’ had little to do with property but were more on the legal side but then realised the ‘value’ in drafting leasehold agreements that weighed heavily in their favour (…that we’re all suffering from now!)
Also, Neil, as to your second comment for which I truly appreciate your follow-up:
We brought our Solitaire Managed property in early 2002 (in the days before HIPS and disclosures!) And Admin no offence taken at the “‘run of the mill’ developments – that many of us live in” comment but this was going to be our first home in the year that we were getting married! It was a 2-bed apartment, nothing too special but it was our first home and as naïve first time buyers we were quite (in hindsight!) blinkered!
So for us immediately after we brought the Flat the service charges took off like a rocket! I remember getting the year end balancing charge in our first year as owners and this was something in the region of what our TOTAL service charge was for the whole year (…I remember thinking at the time ‘how could a company possibly get it’s budget so wrong?’)! I went through the thinking that these charges applied to when we weren’t legal owners and so we should not have to pay it etc. but found out, as current owners, we were liable! We were told however that our Solicitor should have withheld funds from the seller to cover such an event as standard practice. When I contacted my Solicitor she said that she had only withheld £500 as the usual, industry standard, amount from the seller, which covered barely half the amount Solitaire were claiming! She also said, at the time, that in her whole career she had never heard of such a high year end balancing amount and never had a scenario where it was not completely and fully covered by the usual £500 retained amount!
Of course alarm bells started ringing then and we had to fork out for the balance from our own pocket. From your time line of increases since 1999 I assume that the person we brought from saw this happening and decided to get out while the going was not so bad (but getting worse) and managed to find us ‘mugs’ to offload on!
The rest as they say is history!
I haven’t had a chance to read the whole blog from our “American cousins” but I think I have a fairly good idea of what it will contain.
Also the very interesting PropertyWeek article about Tchenguiz when it read “Retirement homes have become a lucrative business, and companies such as Peverel are expected to gain from the anticipated growth in Britain’s elderly population” makes me sick! To think of our hard working, retired population as a “lucrative business” is just distasteful! These people have worked hard in their lives to be able to afford a ‘private’ retirement home and to live in peace and tranquillity with respect and dignity – what have they got in real life? Stress, heartache, pain and severe financial loss! Thanks a lot Vincent! I hope that when you come to retire you have the same treatment that you’ve directly dished out to thousands of vulnerable people!
Neil, as you said “The only solution is RTM.”
Nirmal,
Have just discovered these comments that you posted on 10th September re the “history” of Solitaire and the individuals connected to it.
I came across this self-same info together with another quite unrelated newspaper report (found thorugh a name search) last autumn and it was then that the penny well and truly dropped. I suddenly realised “who was who” in both the property and the legal world (right up to the top in the latter case).
My immediate reacation was : “what chance do we stand?”
Surely these Solicitors holding positions in the property management groups should be reported to the Law Society. Surely they are operating unethically? May be worth a mention to them.
Well I really am the lay person, I don’t understand the revelations here. Some legal protocol has been breached ?
My place was built by Barratt Homes, and the original 3-way lease for my unit which was bought off-plan before the developer sold the freehold included OM Management Services Ltd of Wigmore Place, Luton as the manager. The freehold somehow became owned by OM Ltd and was subsequently sold or transferred to Peverel Properties Ltd in ? OMMS became Peverel OM which now is styled OM Property Management. PPL are still the freeholder, but E & M Ltd of Molten House, 302 Regents Park Road are their appointed agents.
The original lease was signed by A E Billson. My conclusion is that while the company names change the people remain the same. I understand that Andrew Billson used to be identified as MD of Solitaire and is now Director of Operations for OM Property Management – the chief baddy.
The suggestion that throughout this process of acquisitions, transfers and name changes there have been lawyers and legal firms who have also been appointed to enforce payments or represent Peverel Group / CBG companies in disputes is a bit like suggesting Al Capone may have missed a tax payment. So what ?
I would not be surprised if it turns out Kingsborough does not actually exist as an entity which has staff and does work, it may turn out to be just a row heading in an accountants desk draw. Nor would I be surprised if now or in the future more direct relationships or ownerships were revealed between known PG / CBG entities and those companies which it does such commercially favourable business with – Cirrus for sure, but what about Oval, Cunningham Lindsey, … That this list might include legal firms would be no surprise.
Knowing or thinking like this adds to my feeling of disgust, but how does it help us defeat them ?
Charles – the developer should have issued notice that the freehold was being sold before doing so. Did you ever receive any such notification?
Whilst not illegal, having related companies as both the freeholder and their agent / management company certainly muddies the waters and has provoked accusations of cronyism, ‘creative’ accounting and gerrymandering against RTM action.
It doesn’t make RTM impossible, but it means you’re asking one part a group of companies to allow the sacking of another part of the same group of companies.
At best, you’re the victim of PPMG’s notorious lack of transparency.
More likely, these shenanigans hide much darker truths. This web of inter-related companies is inflating charges and ripping you off.
If you haven’t already pursued RTM, I strongly recommend it.
Then if you feel you have a good case, pursue LVT – that way any judgement in your favour will have to be PAID OUT rather than ‘creditted’ against your ongoing service charge account.
Thanks Jon. As you say, CBG’s entire business model is driven by “backslapping” – sorry, that is paraphrasing what Vincent calls leveraging the relationships between group companies for mutual benefit. There is nothing wrong with this sort of idea – it is called integration by people who wear sharp suits.
It becomes unreasonable or even unlawful when (as the Southwark case determined) those relationships are used to the detriment of leaseholders by causing an increase in service charges that would otherwise have been paid. We now have very good examples of where Peverel has done this, most particularly through insurance premium rebates and I am trying to establish others. If there are examples where lawyers related to Peverel have provided services (eg been paid via the service charge) and can be shown to have colluded with the Peverel Landlord/Manager to exploit the lease against the interests of the service charge payers, that would be IT !
Shulman – I have been wondering where I heard that name before.
In 2006 Solitaire was bought by CBG / TVT, replacing joint managing directors Graham Shapiro and Harvey Shulman. In those days CBG centralised its misery-inducing management activity through County Estates Management, and had not bought Peverel OM at that stage.
Quick as a flash NOTB (rather a well known and regarded website and award giver) with an indepth interview with new CEO Paul Rayden.
Some time later, while wondering what NOTB is up to with its fading content and making Kingsborough a finalist for its 2010 awards, the realisation comes that NOTB is owned/run by Nic Shulman (journalist, author, solicitor, adviser to Carlex, FPRA, LEASE conferences etc).
Nic Shulman of Adrenaline Media / NOTB of Canfield Place, NW8.
cf. Harvey Shulman previously of Solitaire, Graham Harvey Solicitors, GH Conish, GH Canfield / Link Asset Management Ltd, also of Canfield Place NW8.
Nic Shulman of Harvey Shulman.
For crying out loud.
So News on the Block are about as independent as the Pope is from the Roman Catholic Church then – I have to laugh at some of them nominations in their awards – VB of OM Property Management was a finalist in one category, I am sure that she is a marked person now, Lee will no doubt have reprimanded her for doing too good a job for the residents and be cutting her down to size and making sure she right royally pisses the developments for which she is responsible right off
[ADMIN EDIT - 19/01/11]
This post has had to be moderated following a request from Lee Middleburgh of Peverel Property Management on behalf of the property manager who had been mentioned. TTAS rules stipulate that employees of PPMG are to not be referred to in their full name, but by initials only.
This post sneaked past our administrators and hadn’t picked up on the fact that a PMC had been named.
Since 1st Sure won the Block Insurer of the Year award
WINNER: 1st Sure
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Deacon
FINALISTS: 1st Sure, Deacon and Kingsborough Insurance
and Kingsborough Insurance were in third place – one assumes that now, OM Management will be seeking insurance quotes from them as well – or would that get in the way of the commissions that they already receive from Kingsborough Insurance
[ADMIN EDIT - 19/01/11]
This post has had to be moderated following a request from Lee Middleburgh of Peverel Property Management