The lady says no – and she’s not for turning…
Imagine how Amanda Blanc, appointed Aviva’s Chief Executive in July this year, would feel if she woke up to find that her insurer had refused to insure her home, and that [...]
Doris Stainer
Stainer sent packing (again) in Tribunal humiliation
The latest full determination in a six-year saga of defeats in Tribunal and High Court hearings, was published on 11th August. The owners of the Grand, Hallam Estates, along [...]
A Gaping Gap at the Grand
Almost five year after the infamous dawn raid that saw Michael and Doris Stainer and their general manager arrested, Robert Richardson has finally abandoned the beleaguered [...]
The Dog (HMRC) Ate My Homework
How many times when a schoolboy at Bedford School did Michael Stainer use the excuse “the dog ate my homework”? We will never know, but we do know that he has been using [...]
Revealed: Michael Stainer Owes The Taxman £1.1 million
When Michael Stainer, Doris Stainer and Robert Richardson were arrested in July 2015, they were held in custody for approximately nine hours. Stainer described the dawn raid [...]
Knock, knock: bailiffs at the door is no joke
In yet another twist in the tortured tale of Michael Stainer’s activities, bailiffs turned up at the Grand on Thursday 4th June. They were looking for the “owners” or [...]
The Great Escape: the Remake
As Michael Stainer (again) and Hallam Estates, the company he set up in 1995 to keep control of the Grand, both slide towards insolvency under the burden of £500,000 of [...]
Liquidation Looms as Stainer and Hallam Estates Humiliated in the High Court – Again!
Hallam Estates, owners of the freehold of the Grand (Folkestone, Kent), lost yet another High Court battle in the Insolvency and Companies Court on February 21st. Hallam were [...]
The Stainer Mortgage Crisis
Every so often, Xmas comes early for those who believe in casting light into dark places. One such dark place is how Michael Stainer (pictured) has financed his activities [...]
Drowning in Debt
Behind all the legal shenanigans that make up a typical week at the Grand (pictured below), there is one inescapable fact. Debt……. “Creditors to right of them, [...]
The Grand’s owners last appeal thrown out of the High Court “Totally without merit”!
In what had to be the last throw of the dice, the Grand’s freeholder, Hallam Estates lost its last battle in the High Court. Seeking to overthrow the July 2018 decision to [...]
The curious case of the flat that never was
Prepare for some nasty surprises over the coming months as the Insolvency Service take control of the assets of the bankrupt Michael and Doris Stainer. One of these is the [...]
The case of the Barrister who was never Instructed.
As the Grand continues to veer between tragedy and farce, we can now report on the case of the barrister who never was. For this we must thank a series of emails between [...]
High Court Judge Slams Stainer for “Purporting” to be a Director
In the latest twist in the tale of Michael Stainer’s legal attempts to roll back the inexorable tide of litigation, he fell foul of Mrs Justice May in the High Court. She [...]
It’s High Noon at the Grand – Folkestone
A major confrontation between the Insolvency Service and the ‘new’ management of the Grand is brewing and could result in both civil and criminal proceedings. On one side [...]
It’s Business as “Normal” at the Grand ….
Depends of course on what you call normal! And one can only feel sorry for those public officials, the Insolvency Practitioners, charged with making sense of the complex web [...]
The Grand: A victory for the residents.
The Upper Tier Property Tribunal yesterday (14th Jan 2019) threw out Hallam Estates appeal (you can download a pdf of decision at the end of this blog post) against the [...]
The Grand: “The Merry Go round stops”
With those words, Michael Stainer knew that his final appeal against personal bankruptcy was doomed. Appearing before Chief Bankruptcy Registrar Briggs in the High Court on [...]
A Grand History
Between April 1981 and September 1981 the residents of the Grand made six written requests for a summary of costs for service charges to Michael Stainer (pictured circa [...]
Black Days for the Unreasonable Stainers
Like an out-of-control juggernaut hurtling towards the precipice with no-one at the wheel, the Grand slides towards disaster. To be fair, there was someone at the wheel, [...]
Breaking News: Who is in charge at the Grand?
Following the shock new of the bankruptcies of Michael and Doris Stainer and the liquidation of more of their companies, just who is running the day-to-day activities at the [...]
The Grand Farewell: High Court Bankrupts the Stainers
Thirty two years after residents of the Grand first confronted Michael Stainer in Court, and three and a half years after HMRC arrested Stainer, his wife Doris and Robert [...]
High Court refuse Michael Stainer right to appeal Income Tax & Paye decision.
In March 2018 Mr Michael Stainer; who lost the ownership of The Grand in 1995, lost his appeal to the Upper Tier Tribunal of the Tax & Chancery Chamber, regarding unpaid [...]
The Long Read: Part 2: Is the Absence of Evidence, Evidence of its Absence? A Grand Question About Red Herrings.
How many times can a story be embellished, elaborated and even altered before it ceases to be true, or as we now say, “fake news”? We ask this in regard to this headline [...]
The Long Read: Allegations of breaches of human rights at the Grand?
Allegations of breaches of human rights at the Grand? Sounds absurd but that is exactly what Michael Stainer’s solicitor Andrew Duncan(pictured left), and his latest [...]