Bogus investment scheme in Liverpool's £25m home regeneration probed

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Local Government and also in Development, Housing

Liverpool City Council (LCC) is investigating an apparently bogus scheme that offered investment opportunities in a £25m housing regeneration project.

The council's Trading Standards team is currently looking into a piece that appeared on Positive Property Investment's (PPI) website that claimed to offer opportunities in the regeneration of housing at the Granby Triangle in Liverpool - a project to be carried out by Leader1 Ltd, a new company that has been formed since a consortium won the tender for the £25m deal back in July 2011.

The piece on PPI's site said: "We are delighted to be working in partnership with developers Leader1 by offering investors the opportunity to help with the regeneration of parts of Liverpool and earn 12% a year.

"We have launched a fund called ‘Residential Regeneration’ which will be used to buy empty and derelict property, renovated to a high eco- standard, then leased back to the council on a five-year guaranteed rent programme."

PPI has claimed that the page containing the false offer was mistakenly uploaded during routine website work by somebody who was no longer with the company. Chris Rowell, one of PPI's directors, told 24dash that the piece was removed within a couple of days after it was noticed by the company's staff and by LCC.

Details within the offer - which PPI claimed was never meant for publication - were obtained by PPI from an unnamed third party that was apparently in contact with LCC and Leader1 Ltd.

A council spokesperson said: “Neither the council nor Leader1 Liverpool know anything of Positive Property Investments and we have not had any dealings with the organisation.

“The claims on the website that Positive Property Investment is in partnership with Leader1 are false and their description of the partnership the council has entered into with Leader1 is also inaccurate.

“The council is not guaranteeing any rental money whatsoever. The contract has not been entered into on this basis and does not form part of the city’s partnership with Leader1.

“Leader1 have contacted the website and the bogus information has now been removed.

“Leader1’s legal team and Liverpool Vision are also looking into the origin of the information.”