$10 Million Swiss Land Banking Company Wound Up in the High Court
November 28, 2007
A Swiss company incorporated in Switzerland in September 2005, 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.”
The grounds for the winding up, notwithstanding the company’s steps to enter into a Swiss voluntary liquidation process (see below) were that it:
* carried on an unauthorised collective investment scheme in the UK.
* made unfounded and misleading statements in the marketing of the plots of land to the public.
* sold the plots of land to the public on the basis that it would seek
planning permission. No planning permission has been obtained.
High Court Registrar Derrett said she was satisfied that this is a case for a usual compulsory order.
i am an investor at the sible hedingham site… after being told lies about planning permission, i have lost £10000 is there anyway i can get this back due to there scams ?
You may want to try this link where there is a forum that has been running for quite some time.
http://www.propertyscam.org.uk/d6plinks/6ZAL7Y