BetterRetirementHousing.com has found that McCarthy and Stone is selling retirement freeholds to Adriatic Land, whose beneficial owners remain hidden.
Adriatic Land freehold owning companies, which are managed by Will Astor’s Long Harbour fund, have nominee directors from the Sanne Group, based in Jersey.
Pensioners in retirement sites – and any other leaseholder for that matter – should have a right to know who they are paying ground rent to.
The freeholder can also forfeit the lease in any unpaid money dispute above £350. Surely, the freeholder should be identifiable and based in the UK? Apparently not, in the leasehold game.
Ground rents are essential to McCarthy and Stone’s business model – Better Retirement Housing
Please follow and like us:… but leaseholders are concerned it is selling freeholds to anonymous buyers … McCarthy and Stone complains about ‘right to reply’ to LKP / Better Retirement Housing articles McCarthy and Stone told The Times yesterday that there would be fewer of its form of retirement flats if the government reduces ground …
McCarthy and Stone told The Times yesterday that ground rents are essential to its business model.
How about changing the model?
Only 2 per cent of over-65s live in designated retirement property in this country, compared with 17 per cent in US and 12 per cent in Australasia.
The basic set-up of McCarthy and Stone is no different to how it was when John McCarthy was knocking out what he called “granny flats” in the Seventies.
True, McCarthy and Stone has created head leases which means it manages its sites itself (even when it sells the freeholds). But it was doing this in the Eighties when McCarthy and Stone owned Peverel.
It sold it after a disastrous libel action against the Daily Telegraph. More here
Under CEO Clive Fenton, who came from Barratt, the leases are longer (999 years); the management from McCarthy and Stone seems better; it has reformed some of the egregious fees on subletting. (It had dropped exit fees which the company had pioneered in 2008, once the Office of Fair Trading began its investigation into this try-on-too-far.)
If it is really the case that McCarthy and Stone needs leasehold in order to survive, that is not good news.
Ground rents are for no service whatsoever. We would have a healthier housing market without them.
McCarthy and Stone has complained that we do not give it a fair hearing. It is welcome to provide a piece arguing the case for ground rents.
Related posts:
McCarthy and Stone and Churchill: are you blackmailing government over the ground rent ban and is your business model broken? Asks BBC R4 MoneyBox
Our ground rents are fair, says McCarthy and Stone (even though they go up to £600 and are for no service whatsoever)
APPG July 11: The case for ground rents from McCarthy and Stone
Housebuilders shares crash over ground rents, with McCarthy and Stone down 10%
ARCO snubs McCarthy and Stone / Churchill by saying there is no need for ground rents
Ground Rents Income Fund plc offers help to leaseholders … in order to keep this grisly show on the road
Excuse Me? McCarthy & Stone:
Return on capital 20%
Selling prices increased by 8%
Revenue increased by 31%
You really need the ground rent income as well?
This looks like black!mail from this company saying if you deny us our revenue from ground rent elderly people will suffer. Disgraceful conduct but interesting they have been so coldly open. There are many ways to make money and ground must not be one of them very soon I hope.
It should be remembered that when McCarthy & Stone was rescued when they were close to bankruptcy they were” bought out” by Goldman Sachs (not noted for customer service) and TPG ( a private equity company)
TPG is a major investor in the very controversial mini cab firm UBER, who have had over 450 lawsuits filed against them in the US in this year alone!
I find it most interesting that Macarthy & Stone appear to be at the root of many Leasehold issues. Their building in B’mth was well known locally as a place where not too many questions are asked. Are they ultimately the root cause for Leasehold for all the shite today? Or are they part of an overall problem stemming from B’mth including the roots of the E&J lot and local lawyers?