Part 2: The White Lion Pub, Cheriton.

Kent County Homes Ltd sole shareholder was Commercial Concerns Ltd, a company solely owned by Nicholas Brown of Hillcrest Rd, Hythe (pictured), so making him the the owner of the White Lion Pub, Cherition.

On the 15th Nov 2016 Commercial Concerns Ltd transferred its single share of Kent County Homes Ltd to Redforge Ltd a company incorporated in the British Virgin Island, according to companies house.

One month later on the 16th Dec 2016 Mina Brown, the secretary of Commercial Concerns Ltd transfers the two shares of the company to Redforge Ltd (BVI) according to Companies House.

Another important fact about Nick is that he is the sole shareholder in Airtech Scaffold Ltd the address given by a former director of the company a Mr Justin Brown was the White Lion Pub, Cheriton. The single share was transferred to Redforge Ltd on the 20th May 2016.

So, who is Redforge Ltd? We’ll come to that shortly. However, in Part 1 we told you that the address where Redforge is registered in the British Virgin Islands was,  PO Box 146, Trident Chambers, Wickhams Cay, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands, appears in the Panama Papers. That remains true, but the address appears not once, not twice, not three times, nor four, nor five, but on six occasions. We can also tell you that that the company who incorporated Redforge Ltd – Trident Trust Company (BVI) Limited received a warning letter on the 14th May 2015 from the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission.

So, coming back to Redforge Ltd, the company who owns the White Lion Pub in Cherition, we can tell you the company was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands by the Trident Trust Company (BVI) Ltd, on the 29th May 2012.

The Memorandum & Articles of Association for Redforge_Limited States:

• We, TRIDENT TRUST COMPANY (B.V.I.) LIMITED, registered agent of the Company, of Trident Chambers, Wickhams Cay 1, Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands for the purpose of incorporating a BVI Business Company under the laws of the British Virgin Islands hereby sign this Memorandum of Association the 29th day of May, 2012.

The document was signed for and on behalf of Trident Trust Company (BVI) Ltd by Linda Andrews.

The register and/or copy of the register of directors of Redforge Ltd is kept at the Company’s registered agent – Trident Trust BVI. This means of course we cannot know who the directors are, but this is not unusual for a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.

As Fidelity Corporate Services make clear on their website

“Confidentiality is one of the main benefits of BVI Business Companies and an important reason to have an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands.

– Register of Members, Register of Directors and all Minutes and Resolutions by the Company are kept only with the Registered Agent under confidential due diligence and do not appear on the public record.

– The shareholder information (Registrer of Shareholders) must be kept on file with the Registered Agent, where it is confidential and accessible only by the members of the company.

– Details of the company beneficial owners, directors and shareholders are not publicly available.”

all this and more for as little as £650.

So who owns Redforge Ltd, thus the White Lion Pub, Cheriton? Well, would you transfer all your assets into a company you didn’t own? Probably not.

Nick is or has been a Director in 38 companies and was the sole shareholder in Redforge Holding Ltd, where he remains as a director. Redforge Holdings Ltd transferred its single share to Redforge Ltd BVI on the 20th May 2016, the same day it transferred Airtech Scaffold Ltd single share. So, it is more probable than not that Nicholas Brown of Hillcrest Rd Hythe may well be the director of Redforge Ltd British Virgin Island; and thus the owner of the White Lion Pub in Cheriton.

So all those service men, who would have moved into the White Lion Hostel, if planning permission had been granted, would have unwittingly paid all their rent to an offshore company. That is why the planning committee and SDC officers should be applauded, as we originally said in Part 1.

Finally, if you’d like to see the document of incorporation for Redforge Ltd (BVI) you can view it here.

The Shepwayvox Team

There are legitimate uses for offshore companies and trusts. We do not intend to suggest or imply that any persons, companies or other entities included in this blogpost have broken the law or otherwise acted improperly