… aka Knight Square and FirstPort
UPDATE: Feb 6 2015: The initial headline on this article, “Janet Entwistle is given the push at Peverel” was factually inaccurate, we are informed.
The following statement to LKP has been received this afternoon:
Janet Entwistle to stand down as CEO of Knight Square
Following the successful launch of FirstPort and Appello, and the separation of these businesses, Janet Entwistle will be standing down as Chief Executive Officer of Knight Square (formerly Peverel Group), the holding company of FirstPort and Appello.
Over the last three years, under the leadership of Janet, the Peverel businesses have been transformed, with improved customer service, greater efficiency and increased financial stability. FirstPort and Appello now have the strategy and leadership in place to build a successful future, reporting into the Knight Square Board.
Janet said: “I am proud to have been CEO through an exciting three years. Now we are reorganising the business to move to a decentralised structure with management closer to their customers it is the right time for me to move on. I know the businesses will continue to thrive under the leadership now in place, with the support of the Board.”
Paul Lester CBE, Chairman, commented:
“To have transformed the business and delivered strong trading performances is an excellent achievement. We now have two exciting businesses in FirstPort and Appello, focused on delivering great customer service. We will continue to improve and grow both businesses for the benefit of their customers, employees and investors.”
The Shareholders, Jane Crawford, Chamonix Private Equity Partners and Alex Fortescue, Electra Partners said:
“Janet has led a successful transformation of the group into two separate businesses and created an environment in which its people are engaged and focused on its customers. FirstPort and Appello are very different businesses today from those we acquired three years ago and we would like to thank Janet for all her hard work and wish her every success in the future.”
Janet will stand down from day to day operations but will assist the Board until the decentralisation of the businesses is finalised.
Comment
LKP takes no pleasure in the departure of Janet Entwistle as CEO of Peverel: the poisoned chalice of leasehold property management.
We have always been of the view that Janet was rather better than the company that she served. Not, we hasten to add, the run of employees at Peverel / FirstPort, who on the whole are just as you would find in any organisation of this type and of comparable size.
The problem with Peverel is its frankly awful legacy: the bloated child of John McCarthy, it fell into the hands in 2006 of Vincent Tchenguiz.
The latter used Peverel to manage his freehold interests, which amount to one per cent of the residential freeholds in the country.
Monetising practices became the norm and the leasehold retirement sector began to stir, with the Campaign against Retirement Leasehold Exploitation forming in 2008 /9.
When the same sort of practices in retirement leasehold were extended to prime London at freeholds formerly owned by the luxury London housebuilders like the Berkeley Group, there was trouble.
St George’s Wharf, Vauxhall, where 35 QCs, members of the Lords, John Major and Chelsea Clinton had their homes, Peverel was not dealing with frail and vulnerable pensioners.
The result was a £1 million settlement to the residents.
Our own Martin Boyd was responsible for winning back more than £500,000 at Charter Quay in Kingston, sparking his determination to assist other leaseholders.
Peverel went into liquidation when the Tchenguiz brothers were arrested by the Serious Fraud Office in March 2011. But after it came out of administration a year later, owned by venture capitalists Chamonix and Electra, its biggest single client owning more than 50 per cent of the freeholds it managed was still the Tchenguiz Family Trust.
Janet Entwistle arrived in March 2012 and she did her best to transform the company into a consumer-oriented enterprise. That is, one that addressed the consumer interests of the leaseholders.
We have no doubt that she was genuine in this ambition.
But it was a hopeless one.
Peverel is still the biggest leasehold property manager in the country, looking after 160,000 homes.
Very few of them – only a few hundred – have actually chosen Peverel to be their property manager.
Most flats are managed by Peverel / FirstPort because it bought the management contract off the original house builders. Or, Peverel had simply hoovered up other smaller property managers, such as the late and unlamented Solitaire.
Needless to say, Peverel / FirstPort is now fading as a force in property management. Peverel Retirement has been the subject of an Office of Fair Trading ruling that its subsidiary Cirrus was running a price-fixing racket.
The then management of Peverel managed to hoodwink the regulators and win leniency for the company, but the fact remains that a company that manages some of the most vulnerable people in society set out systematically to cheat them.
In these circumstances, the best place for Janet is out of the door with a large cheque.
There are plenty of other companies more deserving of her talents than this turkey.
As for the venture capitalists who took Peverel out of administration – and cleverly got a loan secured against Peverel’s inexplicable portfolio of house managers’ flats – they got a bumpier ride than they bargained for, but presumably expect to win some, lose some.
Notes to Editors
Knight Square
Peverel Group is now known as Knight Square. Knight Square is the parent business of FirstPort and Appello. For more information, please visit www.knightsquare.com
Headquartered in New Milton, Hampshire, Knight Square has offices in London, Luton, Birmingham and Glasgow and employs more than 3,500 people.
Knight Square is the only trading group of Knight Square Holdings Limited.
Knight Square Shareholders:
Chamonix Private Equity is a specialist independent investment firm founded in 2006. It is a partnership between Jane Crawford, Christopher Edge, Andrew Hartley and Sam Watkinson. Chamonix focuses on identifying and acquiring businesses that have the potential to grow – but have been considered non-core or sub-scale by their current owners. The firm’s unique investment approach is based on a commitment to invest for the long term, the use of lower levels of leverage than the private equity industry traditionally puts in place, and an equity funding ethos which ensures an appropriate and financial structure for each acquisition. The firm typically focuses on fewer investments, an approach which allows its professionals to spend significant amounts of time supporting its management teams to bring about real change.
For further information visit www.chamonixpe.com.
Electra Partners is an independent private equity fund manager with over 25 years’ experience in the mid-market. During the last 25 years it has invested in excess of £4.4 billion in more than 200 deals. As at 30 September 2014, the firm had funds under management of over £1.6 billion including capital available for investment of circa £300 million.
Electra Partners’ flexible investment strategy allows it to invest broadly across the private equity market with a particular focus on Buyouts and Co-investments, Secondaries and Debt. In addition to this, its long-term capital base means it is not constrained by expiring investment periods or exit pressure driven by fund raising cycles and is therefore able to realise investments only when returns are maximised for its investors.
The firm’s major client is Electra Private Equity PLC (“Electra”), a private equity investment trust which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 1976. Electra’s long-term investment performance has been consistently superior to private equity and other benchmarks. Over the ten years to 30 September 2014, Electra has seen diluted NAV per share growth of 262% (equivalent to a ten-year annualised return on equity of 14%) compared to a 120% increase in the FTSE All-Share.
For further information please visit www.electrapartners.com.
Electra Partners LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Michael Epstein
The more than 50% Peverel managed/Tchenguiz owned should serve as a warning to Peverel/Firstport. This is because the Tchenguiz freehold portfolio (which accounts for the appointment of Peverel to manage) is in default and is being sold off.
The “new” freeholders may decide not to use Peverel/Firstport.
It should be noted that other Peverel appointments to manage have come about via contracts with developers or being part of a tripartite lease.. Estimates suggest that around 30% of Peverel’s management contracts are as a result of this.
Possibly as few as 20% of all Peverel’s management contracts are leaseholder derived.
chas
This is part of the statement made by The Peverel Group on the 03/02/15 on the Campaign against Retirement Leasehold Exploitation Website.
Chas Says: We note that The Peverel Group has changed name to Knight Square Ltd.
This change of name goes nowhere to remove the scars left by the failures of Peverel Management Services Ltd trading as Peverel Retirement, now to be called FirstPort and Cirrus Communications is to be called Appello.
These two companies Peverel/Cirrus cheated 65 developments some 2,000, pensioners and what did the Government do they closed down the OFT after the Report was published.
The OFT reported the facts after 4 years of investigation and what penalty was imposed on Peverel/Cirrus, nothing, not a fine, even though they made £1.4 million pounds from Price Fixing from 2005 to 2009.
The OFT allowed them to Carry On Regardless.
This is what was said by Peverel Group:
Over the last three years, under the leadership of Janet, the Peverel businesses have been transformed, with improved customer service, greater efficiency and increased financial stability. FirstPort and Appello now have the strategy and leadership in place to build a successful future, reporting into the Knight Square Board.
Janet said: “I am proud to have been CEO through an exciting three years. Now we are reorganising the business to move to a decentralised structure with management closer to their customers it is the right time for me to move on. I know the businesses will continue to thrive under the leadership now in place, with the support of the Board.”
Paul Lester CBE, Chairman, commented:
“To have transformed the business and delivered strong trading performances is an excellent achievement. We now have two exciting businesses in FirstPort and Appello, focused on delivering great customer service. We will continue to improve and grow both businesses for the benefit of their customers, employees and investors.”
Can you believe this statement?
chas
As Janet has stepped down who will we send the emails to now to have the Price Fixing finally resolved?
ALSO
The problem regarding the Price Fixing was not just the fact that Peverel Management Services now (FirstPort) or Cirrus Communications Services Lt now (Appello).
Cirrus were able to price the tender at a mark up and profit level as high as they choose.
At Ashbrook Court the Technical Manager gave us the figures in writing and stated,:
“We have selected at least two estimates from which to make the final choice of contractor” the fact that only two contractors were asked to tender, this was misleading?
The Tenders received were not estimates as stated in the above?
The two tenders received were from Cirrus Communication and Glyn Jackson. Glyn Jackson was asked to tender after being given the Cirrus tender price. Glyn Jackson agreed to add 20% on to each item/items, which is seen on the tender document.
The fact that the true cost of the works may have been for £10,000 to £12,000 has not been considered as Peverel/Cirrus were working for the same Peverel Group.
It is down to the Peverel Group to refund the differences in the true costs and those provided as tenders.
It is believed that a £20,000 tender won by Peverel/Cirrus could have been undertaken for as little as 50% as stated by the original Whistle Blower in 2009/10 complaint to the SFO, then passed to the OFT.
Can Melisa confirm these facts?
chas
Admin,
This was part of an email from a Peverel Senior Officer today. I am not sure who it was who sent it as it was from Customer Relations.
I do not have any relations that I know at Peverel Management Services Ltd who trade as Peverel Retirement who has changed their name to First or LastPort but are still the Price Fixing Company that allowed Cirrus Communications Services Ltd who became CirrusUK and then Appello, have I left anything out?
From Peverel Group Customer Relations?
Unless expressly stated otherwise, this communication is from or relates to whichever of the following companies is identified in the body of the email above:
Peverel Services Limited trading as Knight Square, Peverel Group and Peverel Property Management and also in transition to trade as FirstPort. Registered in England No.7925019.
* FirstPort Retirement Property Services Limited
* (formerly Peverel Management Services Limited)
* which is transitioning to its new brand and is therefore currently trading both as
* FirstPort Retirement Property Services and
* Peverel Retirement. Registered in England No. 1614866.
FirstPort Property Services Scotland Limited (formerly Peverel Scotland Limited) which is transitioning to its new brand and is therefore currently trading both as FirstPort Property Services Scotland and Peverel Scotland. Registered in England No. 3829468. Property Factors Registration Number PF000095.
* OM Property Management Limited, trading as:
* OM Property Management and Marlborough House Management –
* both currently in transition to trade as FirstPort Property Services;
* Consort Property Management and Insero Letting Professionals – currently in transition to trade as * * FirstPort Bespoke Property Services and
* FirstPort Lettings Services respectively. Registered in England No. 2061041.
* Pembertons Residential Limited –
* currently trading as Pembertons Property Management and Stonedale Property Management –
* and soon to be changing to the FirstPort brand. Registered in England No. 1623496.
chas
Michael,
The Price Fixing by Peverel Management Services Ltd and Cirrus Communication was undertaken at Ashbrook Court in 2007/08.
Chris Owens and Janet Entwistle refused to undertake an internal investigation at our development as the Area/Regional Manager and Technical Officer were still working for Peverel at the time of the Bogus Tendering.
Janet stated that No Employer was today working at Peverel, that had working knowledge of the Price Fixing?
As both Janet Entwistle and Chris Owens had refused to carry out an internal investigation where the evidence of the Price Fixing is evident and can be seen at Ashbrook Court.
To rub salt into the wounds Peverel/Cirrus then gave the works to Glyn Jackson the loosing tenderer who had been given Cirrus Priced Tender and just added 20%, not even bothering to total all the figures.
What a cover up and whitewash of over 2,000 elderly residents paid for works that gave Cirrus the £1.4 million pounds that were not undertaken as being OBSOLETE as they stated but to keep Peverel/Cirrus in works for the period from 2004/5 to 2009/10.