Protests over alleged scams of Liverpool property company

THE alleged scams of a Liverpool-based property company have sparked a wave of protest among investors in Hong Kong.

Police in the former British colony have been flooded with calls asking them to investigate the activities of Absolute Living Developments – currently being wound up – which is behind a controversial development of apartments in Runcorn.

ADL was the company which launched a scheme to convert East Lane House in the Cheshire town into 448 apartments.

Information at Companies House has revealed that ALD has borrowed money from company DS7, based at St George’s House in Manchester.

Hong Kong lawmaker and Democratic Party politician James To Kun-sun has been leading the petitioning of officials, according multiple media reports.

To has confirmed via a spokeswoman that the protests relate to ALD and “suspected fraud” in relation to “about five projects in the UK”.

Hong Kong newspaper The Standard, has said 60 buyers protested at Wan Chai police headquarters after 200 Hong Kong residents bought presale flats at ALD projects in Bradford and Manchester but that ALD was wound up in February.

The Standard said police had received 24 complaints.

Rosalind Renshaw, writing in UK-based B2B publication Property Industry Eye, said 20 protesters had gathered outside the British consulate in Hong Kong to protest after To, who is also a solicitor, “handed in a letter on behalf of more than 150 buyers, calling on consulate officials to intervene”.

The South China Morning Post reported that To had said he hoped that UK and Hong Kong police will work together to investigate, adding that “the UK’s reputation at large would be at stake also” if the matter is not looked into properly.

News website RTHK report on June 18 that To Kun-sun was representing 500 buyers. It added that the UK property investment system has a fundamental flaw.

He told RTHK: “I think there is obvious deficiency in the system of the uncompleted flats in the UK.

“When compared with the system in Hong Kong, (where) all the money, the deposit paid to the developer will be state-held with the solicitor, in the lawyer’s office and only released to the developer (when they) appoint an architecture certificate of actual expenses incurred in constructing the building.”

Before it was wound up, ALD was registered to an address in Liverpool and its directors were based in Malaysia.

The East Lane House project, also known as The Whitehouse, is now being managed by another company.

Cllr Dave Thompson of Halton Lea ward, was among those to criticise ALD East Lane House flats plans when they were lodged with Halton Borough Council last year and went through after ALD appealed, said he was not surprised that protests had sprung up over ALD.

He said he had spoken to Trading Standards about the rental prices being used to promote the East Lane House flats scheme in the Far East.

Last year the Runcorn Weekly News obtained an online listing promoting the scheme showing that flats were being promoted to investors as having rental values starting at £370 per month but reaching as high as £800 and £940 per month for some of the properties.

Discussing ALD’s marketing materials for East Lane House in Runcorn, Cllr Thompson told the Liverpool Echo: “There has been an impression put across portraying Runcorn as something it is not, with images of luxury super cars and other bizarre portrayals of life here.

“The White House development was forced on the council and the local community using permitted development powers the Government has introduced and uses to force developments on local planning authorities.

“I have previously raised concerns with Trading Standards at the suggestions that were put across of the rental value investors could expect by owning and letting flats.

“Seemingly, Trading Standards in the UK only have reciprocal arrangements with certain countries and we are powerless to warn investors in the Far East that there is strong local resistance to a development.

“Until now I have been hopeful that Far East investors would Google the development proposals in Runcorn because if they did they would see a very different picture.”

No-one was available for comment at ALD