Joanna

How do you know Land International and Oil Estates are operated by the same people?

They have been closed down in the UK by the FSA but are still operating in Asia

NEWS: Land International Far East
Four companies operating from Cheltenham and selling plots of agricultural land have been closed down by the High Court following an investigation by the Companies Investigation Branch of the Insolvency Service.

The companies began trading in early 2004 by purchasing land in greenbelt areas across England, which were then sub-divided into plots of typically 400 - 500 square metres. In excess of 700 plots were sold in this way to the public.

Potential investors in South East Asia were also targeted through Land International (Far East) Limited. The common directors for the four companies were Michael John Morris and Stephen Nicholas Meissner.

The investigation found that during the sales process, prospective investors were told by the companies sales agents that the selling company in question would be seeking to obtain planning permission on their behalf, with the accompanying sales literature disclosing that separate management companies would be set up to deal with planning permission on behalf of plot owners at each site. In reality there was no prospect of planning permission being obtained.
All four companies failed to maintain adequate accounting records. Land International Limited had failed to file any accounts since incorporation in 2003, missing statutory deadlines for filing accounts for its first three accounting periods. This failure to maintain adequate accounting records assisted in attempts to mask the extent of the companies’ trading activities including to properly account for their corporation tax liabilities. Applying the average plot selling price to the plots sold suggested that the total revenue would have been in excess of £10million.

Tim

I wrote about this earlier:

http://www.lioninvestor.com/uk-land-investments-to-be-liquidated/

Not too sure where oil estates figure in all these. They could have taken over the office space.

Insolvency Bulletin
Provisional Liquidator Appointed to Land-banking Company

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. They operated from an office at 6 St Georges Street, Cheltenham GL50 4AF.

The petitions were presented following an investigation carried out by BERR’s Companies Investigation Branch under Section 447 of the Companies Act 1985. The petitions are listed for hearing on 5 March 2008.

The case is now subject to High Court action and no further information will be made available until the petitions are heard in the High Court on 5 March 2008.

Notes to editors
1. The registered office of all the companies save Land International (Far East) Limited are at 6 St Georges Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 4AF. The registered office of Land International (Far East) Limited is at 1 St Georges Street, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 4AF.
2. The petition was presented under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986. The Official Receiver was appointed provisional liquidator of the companies on 23 January 2008. A provisional liquidator is appointed by the court to protect the assets of a company after a petition has been presented.
3. The Insolvency Service carries out confidential enquiries on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform through Companies Investigation Branch.
4. The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. The Service also authorises and regulates the insolvency profession; deals with disqualification of directors in corporate failures; assesses and pays statutory entitlement to redundancy payments when an employer cannot or will not pay employees; provides banking and investment services for bankruptcy and liquidation estate funds; and advises ministers and other government departments on insolvency law and practice.
5. All public enquiries concerning the affairs of the companies should be made to The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 21 Bloomsbury Street, London, WC1B 3SS. Email: piu@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk Public Enquiries: 0207 637 1110
6. Further information about the work of The Insolvency Service is available from http://www.insolvency.gov.uk

As said it is a process and thus can take sometime. An application can only made once the the Council’s core strategy is out..This provides details on the requirement of land by the council.

This happens as in the UK over 90% of the land is in private hands. Thus the govt rarely can mandate development. What the do to control the process is thru the issuance of planning permissions for suitable projects.

A benefit of this is when the land gets planning it value can increase by anything from 300 to a 1000 percent.

Investors can thus benefit by purchasing strategically located and getting it rezoned under the core strategy.

There are several criteria to look for but basically it has to be sustainable ;ie there must be infrastructure around it like transportation, schools ,pubs etc. A full information can be found under the Planning Policy Strategy papers available at the govt’s Communities and Govt website.

Thanks for the direct link to the email.

Looks like the covenant was a fine (and critical) detail that was missed out.

If it still applies, that would be a disaster for Cherry Tree plot owners and profitable plots.

Something for the lawyers to work out.