A controversial land management firm embroiled in thousands of disputes across Scotland has been threatened with closure, The Herald has learned.

Glasgow-based Greenbelt Group Ltd has been warned by Companies House that it will be struck off if it doesn’t produce its overdue accounts.

The firm failed to file records for 2006-07 by the July 2009 deadline, and it could now have its assets seized and handed to the state if it doesn’t comply. The registrar has formally proposed to strike off the firm, freezing its bank accounts and transferring all assets to the Crown.

Greenbelt managing director Alex Middleton said the outstanding documentation had been sent to Companies House, but he claimed that “it may have been delayed by the postal dispute”.

Sources close to the company told The Herald that Greenbelt had faced problems with its auditors, one of whom had resigned its position after disagreements over accounts.

However, Mr Middleton strenuously denied the difficulties, and insisted: “There is no question of the company being struck off.”

Greenbelt has been subject to thousands of complaints from councils, businesses and homeowners since it was incorporated in 1999, and a UK-wide campaign group now lists complaints from more than 130 housing estates.

The firm, originally established in the public sector by bodies including Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and Scottish Enterprise, was recently criticised for its work at the Black Cart Water, near Glasgow Airport, where it was paid £170,000 to maintain the area as a whooper swan reserve.

Greenbelt has since sold the SSSI to a local farmer at profit, without passing on grant money.

The firm has also been accused of failing homeowners who are tied into contracts for it to manage shared areas on housing estates. Aberdeenshire Council received so many complaints about work paid for but not completed that it wrote to developers urging them not to use Greenbelt.

Article website link

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Greenbelt Group Action

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Companies House Search:

Company Details – Name & Registered Office:
GREENBELT GROUP LIMITED
ABBOTSFORD HOUSE
ABBOTSFORD PLACE
GLASGOW
G5 9SS
Company No. SC192378

Status: Active – Proposal to Strike off
Date of Incorporation: 04/01/1999
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC(03)):
9305 – Other service activities
Accounting Reference Date: 30/09
Last Accounts Made Up To: 30/09/2007 (SMALL)
Next Accounts Due: 30/07/2009 OVERDUE
Last Return Made Up To: 01/02/2009
Next Return Due: 01/03/2010
Last Members List: 01/02/2009

Previous Names:
Date of change:
8/04/2003
THE GREENBELT GROUP OF COMPANIES LIMITED
10/05/1999
COMLAW NO. 495 LIMITED

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You could be penalised up to £5000 if you fail to send us your Annual Accounts by the due date.

And if you are late filing your Annual Return as well, your company may be struck off and you could face a criminal charge.

• Liquidation and Insolvency in England and Wales
• Liquidation and insolvency in Scotland

Scottish property managers, also known as ‘factors’, manage common shared property such as roofs, staircases and gardens within tenements and other residential properties with a shared common space. Around 135,000 Scottish households rely on property management companies. The OFT’s study also looked at land maintenance companies which maintain open spaces, typically on new housing developments.

The OFT found that whilst the majority of people were happy with their property manager, around one in three said they were not. Two-thirds of consumers who had made a complaint about their management firm were dissatisfied with the way their complaint was handled.

The study says that:
* many people do not understand their complex legal rights and are unsure about the standard of service they should expect, and
* there is limited scope for redress when things go wrong, and
* owners rarely switch their property manager – and at the same time, there is little evidence of active competition between property management companies to attract business.

As a result of its findings, the OFT has today recommended:
* early implementation of a Scottish Government promoted self-regulatory scheme, with an independent complaints redress mechanism, to ensure better accountability of property managers for their standards. If this fails, a statutory scheme should be introduced, and
* the development of an advice and mediation service by the Scottish Government – available to owners and managing agents – to help overcome the legal complexities and prevent the breakdown of arrangements.

In addition, the OFT study found similar problems in the market for land maintenance companies, with consumers experiencing particularly extreme barriers to switching land maintenance suppliers when ownership of open spaces had been transferred to private companies.

Following discussion with the OFT, Consumer Focus Scotland has agreed in principle to support home owners to bring forward a test case applying legislation which may allow owners to switch land maintenance company. If this proves to be an impractical option for home owners, then the OFT recommends that the Scottish Government should review the legislation.

The OFT’s recommendations have now been submitted to the Scottish Government which has agreed to respond within 90 days.

John Fingleton, OFT Chief Executive, said:
‘This is a market that is not working well for many homeowners in Scotland. People often have little or no understanding about their rights, households rarely switch factors, suppliers do not seem to be actively competing with each other and the options for consumers when things go wrong are very limited. The OFT’s recommendations for change should be to the benefit of many Scottish consumers.’

NOTES
1. Download a copy of the OFT Market Study of Property Managers in Scotland from the OFT website – http://www.oft.gov.uk.

2. In October 2007, Consumer Focus Scotland (formerly the Scottish Consumer Council) submitted evidence to the OFT which raised concerns about Scottish property managers. For more details about this go to the Scottish Property Managers webpage on the OFT website: http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/market- studies/current/scottish.

3. As part of its market study, the OFT commissioned Ipsos MORI to carry out a survey of flat owners to see how well the property managers market in Scotland was working from the perspective of consumers. In addition, the OFT sought information from property managers across Scotland, asking them to complete an online survey. To see this survey go to the Scottish Property Managers webpage on the OFT website:
http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/market- studies/current/scottish.

4. Consumers wishing to complain about residential property management services should in the first instance contact either Consumer Direct or their local Citizens Advice Bureaux for advice on how to deal with their concerns.

http://www.oft.gov.uk

PUBLIC enquiries: 0845 7224499
enquiries@oft.gov.uk
OFT reports and consumer information leaflets are available free from:
OFT, PO Box 366, Hayes UB3 1XB 0800 389 3158 oft@ecgroup.uk.com