MBI and Northern Powerhouse Developments

npd_investor

AnotherJoe wrote: »

So how come on those margins that they couldn't easily pay the investors?

Fair question: The report from Duff & Phelps could help provide some answers here. It is clear that the NPD management (GW and co) enriched themselves at the expense of NPD. It was stated that NPD owed 2.1 million of annual payments to its investors. At the same time it was established that 2.1 million had been transferred to GW and family Ltd. All the luxuries (detailed in the report) that they afforded themselves at the expense of NPD did not do the business well. The judge made his decision over a weekend to have D & P take over as interim mgmt based on the fact that NPD management was completely dishonest. That tells it all. In conclusion they did not care about NPD or their investors but were draining the business of funds to live a luxurious lifestyle.

Overall the concept for operational hotels can work (as is proven with similar schemes) under the condition that the business is not run by a bunch of crooks and/or clowns.

marinesparks

Just wondering if anyone out there got my post about NPD/MBI on 3/9/2019.
Am stretched out to approx. £150k, and desperately searching for others who invested,
and face losing their savings as well, and what I could possibly do next.
D&F seem hard to get in touch with, and any advice would be most gratefully received.

Regards- marinesparks.

eskbanker

marinesparks wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone out there got my post about NPD/MBI on 3/9/2019.

Not sure exactly how you're viewing this thread but aren't you able to see the responses to that post?

AnotherJoe

marinesparks wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone out there got my post about NPD/MBI on 3/9/2019.
Am stretched out to approx. £150k, and desperately searching for others who invested,
and face losing their savings as well, and what I could possibly do next.
D&F seem hard to get in touch with, and any advice would be most gratefully received.

Regards- marinesparks.

Yes, several people including me replied to you with some questions that you haven't answered, knowing the answers to which just might help you.(dont want to get your hopes up too much)

Here are my questions to you again
Can you explain how all your pension money ended up in these investments ?

Knowing that might give a route to who (if anyone) you can claim against.

I can't think of how I could have invested all my pension money in these. So something screwy was going on.
Note, I'm not asking why, I'm asking about the mechanics of how you did it.
I don't know how I could do it even if I wanted to (if I assume they were still running)

And also, and crucially, was someone else involved, in advising you to do this ?

Aretnap

marinesparks wrote: »

Am stretched out to approx. £150k, and desperately searching for others who invested, and face losing their savings as well, and what I could possibly do next.

As per previous replies your options on what to do next are very limited. Pragmatically the best option may well be to assume that the money is all gone, let the administrators do their job (which will take months, at least) and if you do get anything back a year or two down the line treat it as an unexpected bonus.

Be very wary of the risk of recovery scams, where a plausible-sounding person will tell you that they can get your money back, or that a Chinese billionare wants to buy your hotel room and that they can arrange it, in return for an advance fee. Obviously once you pay people like that you will never hear from them again, unless it is to ask for more money.

In light of your hunt for other investors, be aware that a popular variant of the recovery scam is to pose as another victim and to ask for funds for a group action lawsuit, which of course never materialises...

marinesparks

Regarding NPD/MBI consulting.

Primarily, I wish to thank all you guys out there for the replies and advice.
Especially, eskbanker, npd_investor, ashpan, another joe, aretnap, and others.
Please bear with me, as am new to this site, and not sure yet how to use it yet.

Had to leave my job as marine electrician as failed medical due imperfect colour vision.
Came ashore, and invested my pension pot into two student rooms in Bradford.
The lease was 125 years. Thought all was well.
Later MBI became NPD, and then I got told that the two student rooms would no longer
be managed by NPD, and my only option was to divest into two hotel rooms, which I did.

I believed in NPD at the time . Their literature was of the highest quality, involving a politician,
and the adventurer Bear Grylls on one project. However it seems GW has screwed me,
and many others. Hate to be a defeatist, but according to D&P , you'd have to be a millionaire
to take him to court, and win a case.

Thanks for explaining Trading Standards don't apply, and an Ombudsman wouldn't assist

Thanks again for watching this post.

Just wished I'd been trained as a corporate solicitor/lawyer, could have saved myself, and many others a whole load of grief.

AnotherJoe

Was this an "informal" pension pot, rather than an actual approved pension run by a company ?
Were any third parties involved in advising you?

npd_investor

D&P are organising an investor evening in the Shard in London on 2nd of October during which more clarity will be given about the way forward. As per the latest update they have managed to freeze all assets of GW so no more expensive holidays.My guess is that he will be forced to exchange his luxurious residence for a prison cell in the foreseeable future. Claims have alse been made against Select Portfolio which immediately filed for administration. Will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

npd_investor

One of the questions that is still on my mind is whether the administrators have the right to put the hotels up for sale without consent from the individual investors in order to pay off the higher ranking creditors with the proceeds from the sale. I do not think that would be possible. Any ideas anyone ? When I asked the sollicitor (Metislaw) about this scenario a few years back this was their response:

"Following Completion you would own the unit itself as an asset in land. You could then sell this, or get together with the other investors who own the hotel rooms and arrange for a management company to run the hotel, for example. The developer’s insolvency would not affect your ownership of this property."

AnotherJoe

npd_investor wrote: »

One of the questions that is still on my mind is whether the administrators have the right to put the hotels up for sale without consent from the individual investors in order to pay off the higher ranking creditors with the proceeds from the sale. I do not think that would be possible. Any ideas anyone ? When I asked the sollicitor (Metislaw) about this scenario a few years back this was their response:

"Following Completion you would own the unit itself as an asset in land. You could then sell this, or get together with the other investors who own the hotel rooms and arrange for a management company to run the hotel, for example. The developer’s insolvency would not affect your ownership of this property."

Heath Warning - IANAL
This doesn't sound right to me. Surely all you got was a lease for one hotel room only and not the rest of the hotel?

Common facilities such as reception, bar, restaurant, staff rooms, facility rooms, central heating system, electrical room, grounds, car parks etc etc etc are not included in that?
If I'm correct yet the solicitors statement can be read as implying erroneously that you also own a % of those common facilities (because how else could you club together and run the hotel if you dont own those?) , then I'd say you have a case against them for negligence, since either you dont own them or the current administrators are blatantly committing fraud by selling something they have no right to. And if that was the case I'm sure that would be picked up by the buyers solicitors.

It must be one or the other.

I refer you though to my opening statement but suggest you may have a route to get your money back via a complaint to your solicitors.

Edit; that solicitors statement seems so strange to me I wonder if they were the solicitors suggested by NPD ? I just cannot imagine an unconnected solicitor coming up with a suggestion regards clubbing together with other investors to run the hotel. That doesn't sit right with me.

Update - and here were go aftera quick google; From a news story
Communications with NPD’s sales agents had left him with the firm impression that the funds raised to build Hawthorn were being safeguarded by Woodhouse’s solicitor, Metis Law.

OP, IMO you need to be taking legal action against Metis Law. That statement from them to you may be your out. You'll have to investigate the steps to take to do that.