SJ Capital group

[BobbyBB]

Credit where credit is due however, at least SJ Capital has put in for planning permission on the Greenhithe site. If I was an investor the 3 questions that I'd be seeking urgent answers to are -

1. How many plots were originally sold on the land, and if more than 40 (the amount on the planning application) where does that leave my plot as I might be one of 100 plots originally sold?

2. What did I actually buy, was it an unspecific plot on the land, so if 40 plots were sold my share is 1/40th (assuming no more than 40 plots were sold). Or did I buy a specfic plot with map cordinates? If so what happens if my area of the land is deemed to be a road, or landscaping, does that make my investment worthless?

3. What about affordable housing? 40% of any large site now has to be affordable and the plot value of affordable is worth about 30% of a non-affordable. What happens if my plot is not a road or pavement but is affordable, does that make my investment worth a lot less if planning permission is given? And if I didn't know about the strict laws on affordable housing in the UK on new development sites why wasn't this critical piece of information mentioned during the sales process. If it was mentioned though then no problems.

But those questions are only relevant if planning permission is given. If not then not only is my investment worth a fraction of what I paid but SJ Capital will have still banked my large original cheque. To me it looks like a big money crapshoot for the punter, but a sure thing for the seller

I don't know about anyone else but personally I run a mile from such one sided investments because one side basically shifts 100% of the risk to the other and the one with the risk bears 100% of the losses if they materialise. Still, it's an excellent and very profitable no-risk strategy if you're the orginal seller....

 

[BobbyBB]

Daleela doesn't seem too happy with how things are turning out for her 'strategic' investment.

SJ Capital Group | Complaint | SJ Capital promised delivery in 5-7 years - 05

 

[BobbyBB]

Oh dear, application refused.

12/01325/OUT | Outline application for redevelopment of the site to comprise up to 40 residential dwellings, provision of public open space, parking, access and landscaping. retention of the bowling green and relocation and enhancement of bowling clu


Not to worry, SJ Capital has done pretty well. It sold the plots at what some regard as ridiculously inflated prices, in effect it had the perfect trade, heads they win, tails they win.

Like I said, the investors should have realised that a) they know nothing about about UK land prices (otherwise they would have seriously questioned the valuation the plots were marketed at), and b) that 100% of the risk was being shifted to them.

My advice is simple - if you don't know what you're doing then either don't get involved with complex foreign investments, espcially land, OR put some serious work into learning about what you're buying and the company you're doing businss with. Here's a good start, and it only took 20 seconds to find it on Google - Paul Charney Brian Smith Bally Chohan UKLI

If your research had included ending up at a site like this then you would have got plenty of help. But oh no, investors don't see anything wrong with a company that already owns the land telling them that it's worth a lot of money.

The other bit of advice I'd give is NEVER buy a property or land, especially foreign land, without getting an 100% INDEPENDENT VALUATION. If investors had done that (and yes, it would have been an expense) then they might have received a very different valuation than that of the company selling it who also owned the land...

Successful investment is hard work, even for the big boys (ever wondered why they employ costly research teams), so it's never a case of listening to a salesmen working a booth at a shopping mall for all your research. It's a case of listening to him/her then going away and DOING YOUR OWN RESEARCH to verify their facts and figures alongside other information you might find. And if you have to employ an expert to help you (independent land valuer) then so be it, that's how proper investors operate whether they have £5,000 to invest or £5million. Failure to do this sort of work, means you probably get what's coming to you. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, just trying to educate some of you.

 

[flyerlynn]

You are going to get ripped off, google 'land banking scams' and you will see how these people operate. Anybody who cold calls you is going to rip you off, whether its shares, land, wine whatever.

Any chance pboyles is still on this site ?

 

[flyerlynn]

pboyles, I don't recall saying I was hoping to make money from this sort of investment or indeed that my intentions are to discredit anyone or any company. As my first post and subsequent posts state, my intention is to try and garner some truth either behind the allegations being made here or to uphold the argument put forward in Waynesas previous post in defence of SJ Capital.

I don't know the intentions behind your posts, but am happy to make the assumption that they are honourable until proven otherwise.

I have no interest in the past activities of SJ Capital, or any of its directors or employees. Any links SJ Capital has to Bally Chohan at present ( if any) need to be confirmed by fact and not by speculation, hence why, although I appreciate all your posts present and previous, I rely on my own research and due diligence.

I have this morning spoken to the previous owners of the land at Houghton Regis (their names are on the deeds and a quick google search threw up a contact number), although they seemed a bit taken back by my call they where not entirely surprised by my call. I was given confirmation that no agreement has been made for the disposition of the land under Southern & Regionals ownership by Southern & Regional or any of it's agents or affiliated companies.

The owners stated that up until this week they had no knowledge of SJ Capital or that SJ Capital was indeed marketing/selling the land in the manner described in their sales material. They freely confirmed that they sold the land in 2008 on the understanding that the purchasers would pursue a planning permission and once this planning was gained then a developer would be sought to purchase the land and the uplift divided between both parties. They stated that they had been approached by Brian Smith in March last year with a view to selling their remaining interest in the site, however the deal was not finalised and was called off by the previous owners in early December of last year. The previous owners are seeking legal advice now as to their position with a view to starting litigation against Southern & Regional, although they wouldnt confirm at what stage this is at.

I thanked them for their time and made my apologies for disturbing them on a Sunday.


Make of it what you will. Personally, I hope that the company offers a response to the questions posed and can justify it's course actions of late. Until such time................ the jury is out!

If you are still active on this site. Would like to connect regarding SJ Capital

 

[BigDeal]

If you are still active on this site. Would like to connect regarding SJ Capital

If you hover over someone's username you'll see when they were last logged in. They could look at threads without logging in of course, but looks like these contributors haven't been around for a while.