… and Braemar Estates only manages 14% of the Ground Rents Income Fund plc
LKP asked Braemar Estates for clarification of its relationship with the publicly quoted Ground Rents Income Fund plc.
It owns some freeholds with doubling ground rents and has offered to transfer them to RPI.
LKP noted that James Agar, employed by Brooks Macdonald Funds (BMF) which manages GRIF plc, is a director of Braemar Estates, and that Martin Robinson, chairman of Braemar Estates is a director of GRIF Cosec Limited, which appears to own the freeholds of the fund.
Mr Agar has repeatedly stated that the Ground Rents Income Fund plc is “committed to being a socially-responsible landlord, working hard to treat all leaseholders in a simple, honest and transparent manner”.
It provided the following statement to LKP on September 25:
Ground Rents Income Fund plc (GRIF) is a closed ended real estate investment trust (REIT) incorporated in England and Wales in April 2012. The Company was admitted to the Official List of the CISX and to trading on the SETSqx platform of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in August 2012. As a publicly listed company GRIF meets all necessary regulatory shareholder disclosure requirements.
GRIF has appointed Brooks Macdonald Funds (BMF), a subsidiary of Brooks Macdonald Group, as Investment Manager, an activity which is governed by the EU’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
BMF delegates its responsibility for the collection of ground rent from the GRIF portfolio to Braemar Estates (Residential) Ltd (Braemar), a sister company in the Brooks Macdonald Group.
Braemar is separately appointed by GRIF to manage approximately 14% of the leasehold properties within the GRIF portfolio. The remainder of the portfolio is managed by other, unrelated, managing agents.
GRIF, as the owner of residential freeholds, and Braemar, as property manager of the above mentioned minority of the GRIF portfolio, are not related companies and they are not under common ownership.
Furthermore, Brooks Macdonald Group recently announced (21 September 2017) the sale of Braemar to Rendall & Rittner Limited, with the sale due to complete by calendar year end.
GRIF Cosec Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of GRIF and does not own any freeholds itself, but provides secretarial services to the company.
As a point of clarification, Mr Agar is not the CEO of GRIF but is employed by BMF.
A copy of the RNS announcement outlining the action GRIF proposes to take in relation to doubling ground rents it owns is attached, as well as Brooks Macdonald Group’s announcement regarding the sale of Braemar.
Regards
Braemar Estates
Brooks Macdonald Group Disposal 20170921
Related posts:
Ground rent speculator in leasehold homes laments losses in FT
Ground Rents Income Fund plc says it wants to be a ‘socially responsible landlord’. How about: socially responsible ex-landlord?
Executive guilty of plundering £122,000 from managing agents Rendall and Rittner
Van Houten abused trust of clients and colleagues, says Rendall and Rittner
Rendall and Rittner ‘confident’ to prevent another Simon Van Houten fraudster
Demo at First-Time Buyers show warns of developers’ leasehold rip-offs
I believe that Mr Agar and associated “Ground rents Income fund ” is working hard to treat all leaseholders as “simple”. Forget the rest of the guff about “transparency ” Yadda yadda.
The Residential Property Industry has been revealed to be an utter cesspit of venality, so much so that it makes the machinations in Hollywood look like a tea party at the Women’s Institite on a wet wedensday afternoon.
It’s “Weinstein ” moment has arrived………Leaseholders can only take so much abuse. Freeholders and their attack dog, uneducated Managing Agents predatory behaviour towards leaseholders -which includes threats and the intimidation of leaseholders, cannot continue without serious forms of legal discipline being introduced through STRICT REGULATION.- The Government are enablers if they allow this abuse to continue!!
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
In addition to my above post:
I hope that leaseholders who have been exploited and beleaguered by Freeholders and Managing Agents now beginnings to feel a sense of EMPOWERMENT! These Residential property operators who have abused and continue to abuse leaseholders are nothing more than PREDATORS who must be brought to book by the government.
I honestly believe that it is a human rights issue, simply because these PREDATORS are wilfully denying leaseholders and their family to a peaceful existence.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!
Spell check – spell check / gramma alert.
1. These PREDATORS are wilfully denying leaseholders and their families their right to a peaceful existence.
2.I hope that leaseholders are beginning to feel a sense of EMPOWERMENT.
3.I wish this site had an edit facility.