Ex-England manager duped by infamous property group...again

Ex-England manager duped by infamous property group...again




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The investment bank that attracted Sven Goran Eriksson’s support, as well as his money, has failed to meet yet another payback deadline.


Notts County are among the latest bodies to join the fight against the First London Group. A report by AG Associates, filed with Companies House, said that the football club had lodged a claim for their £5m investment.


The previously London-listed ‘First London’ was wound up in May 2010, after it emerged that 49 per cent shareholder Russel King was in fact a convicted fraudster.


Property investment group The First London Group, the holding company of First London, are now facing fresh controversy after failing, once again, to pay their investors.


The group promised their shareholders a £173 million payout back in October 2009 after announcing that the bank’s asset management group had been sold to Swiss Commodity Holding (SCH).


It failed to meet this promise, as well as a string of others that have followed since, including one issued to shareholders in May, which explained that they would be able to cash in their investments by the end of June.


The company’s rise to fame was led by Russel King, whilst he held a senior position at SCH.


King played a key role in the acquisition of Notts County, a deal on which First London advised. The group was, for some time, deemed the ‘saviour’ of the club.


King also helped negotiate the signing of Eriksson as an investor, reportedly convincing him that he would receive shares in SCH as part of the package.


Today, the First London Group’s profile has become one of infamy, as they face a fraud probe by the Serious Fraud Office, as well as a barrage of complaints from investors who are more than a little disgruntled.


One dismayed investor told The Guardian: “It seems to have all gone quiet. We’ve heard nothing more. It’s just rubbish. They’re just buying time continually. Maybe they think that people will get fed up and go away.”


The Guardian reports that the same document also raises questions as to whether a charge on First London Group, lodged by a company called Monmay, which is linked to the former First London, is in fact valid.


“I do not believe this is a valid floating charge,” wrote Hasan Mirza of AG Associates.

Further information over the Group or over SCH is, at this stage, difficult to come by, as the Group maintain a ‘no comment’ stance, and SCH do not even hold a website anymore.

 

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