Is this the end game for Sunningdale House who want to buy Princes Parade?
David Richard Pownceby (pictured), the owner of Sunningdale House Developments Limited, the company who has offered Folkestone & Hythe District Council, somewhere in the region of £26m for Princes Parade, is in serious financial difficulty.
As we understand one of his companies failed to paid a contractor, who then won an adjudication and then was forced to court to get a County Court Judgment against the company in which Mr Pownceby is the sole director, and person of significant control. As Mr Pownceby did not pay the debt within the time permitted a winding up order has now been submitted to the courts, as we understand.
Furthermore it has been brought to our attention, the number of companies who have, or who are heading toward Construction adjudication has increased, this is due to non payment. These companies work on a variety of sites here in Kent.
In a further development we have discovered that Mr Pownceby went bankrupt back on 17th December 1997. The Gazette shows he was a Painter and Decorator, and the address The Gazzette gives is, 354 Manhattan Buildings, Fairfield Road, London E3 1UQ.
Attached to this address between 1994 and 1996 were five companies all listed in his 97 directorships. They were:
How much he left creditors high and dry for in this bankruptcy is not known.
But lets not forget the company he ran by the name of Lilybrook Holdings Ltd had an extraordinary resolution to wind up on the 7 June 2013, It left creditors out of pocket to the tune of £217,922, according to Companies House documents.
Then there was Lilybrook Developments Ltd which too was wound up leaving creditors high and dry for £17.3m, according to companies house.
And Lilybrook Construction Ltd which too was wound up leaving creditors high and dry for £136,479.
And not forgetting DRP Real Estate which was wound up leaving creditors high and dry for £16.65m
Just those four companies, of which he was the person of significant control and a shareholder, were dissolved owing £34,331,309, to 124 creditors, according to companies house, and the Insolvency practitioner who wound the companies up.
Given that Mr Pownceby’s Sunningdale group of companies is suffering serious cash flow issues and more companies are winning construction adjudications, it is only a matter of time in our honest opinion, the group of companies will fold.
If Folkestone & Hythe District Council were to attempt a sale of Princess Parade to any of Mr Pownceby’s companies, they ought to know the state of play. Plus we hope they have done a thorough due diligence as we suspect there might well be difficulty getting any payments they are owed by his companies.
If you are a company owed money by Mr Pownceby’s group of companies, it might be a wise decision to push for payment sooner rather than later, otherwise your hardwork might not receive the remuneration it is due.
There is more to come on the parlous situation of Mr Pownceby’s group of companies finances in due course.
The Shepway Vox Team
Dissent is NOT a Crime
What do you expect from the incompetent bunch running FHDC. They are neither developers or financial whizz kids.
On May 4th sack the lot of them
Pownceby does appear to have a left a lot of unpaid creditors but I think you are overstating the total. Your figures duplicate the amount of £16,639,477. This is the amount that Lilybrook Developments Ltd owed the Kent Reliance Building Society. This debt was then transferred to DRP Real Estate Limited along with various properties. Therefore on the wind up of Lillybrook the debt to the Kent Reliance should be taken out otherwise it has been double counted. However a figure of £17,691,832 (£34331,309 -16,639,477) is still a lot of debt to write off.
I would personally like to congratulate and raise my hat to the person(s) who decorated the hoardings at Princess Parade .
How true they are