Two firms wound up as land banking clampdown continues

The Insolvency Service has wound up two land banking firms in the latest clampdown on the fraudulent investment activity.

Regency Land Group Limited, formed in Belize and operated from offices in Spain, used tele-sales methods to sell small plots of agricultural land in Grantham to members of the public, telling them it would "accrue further value when it was re-zoned for planning purposes", even though there was no prospect of this happening.

Meanwhile, Regency Land Sales Ltd, an England & Wales registered company, acted as the UK sales agent for the operation.

Both firms were wound up in the High Court following an investigation by the government's Companies Investigations, part of The Insolvency Service.

The companies were managed by Llewellyn Adam Hannah-Shelton, a UK citizen resident in Spain, who also previously managed Britannia Land Management Limited, which was wound up by the High Court on 18 October 2010 following similar concerns.

According to the Insolvency Service, Hannah-Shelton and others in control of the Regency companies failed to co-operate with investigators and did not provide full information regarding their affairs.

However, investigators established that the land sold to the public was never legally transferred into their names.

Purchasers were given a "guarantee" of 8% growth on their investment in the first 12 months, but this was "entirely illusory", the

Investigators also found that there was a lack of transparency about the management and status of Regency Land Group Limited as a Belize registered company, with only very limited disclosure of its details.

Those in control of the companies also admitted to the use of aliases when talking to the clients, and to using virtual offices and internet based mail scanning services.

Earlier this year, the High Court ordered the closure of six land banking firms, while a trader was told to repay £920,000 to investors after illegally selling land.