Glyn Jackson Communications did not pay £35,700 fine from OFT over bogus tendering as it went into liquidation. Now a new company, Safeguard, is at work at the Adelphi site in Harrogate
Eight months after the Office of Fair Trading revealed the Cirrus collusive tendering scandal, scamming contractor Glyn Jackson is again working on retirement sites managed by Peverel.
Glyn Jackson, whose company did not pay an OFT fine of £35,700 after going into liquidation, is this week installing similar electronic systems with a new company at the Adelphi retirement site in Harrogate.
It was reported that Glyn Jackson, based in Conisbrough in Doncaster, was also employed at an unnamed site in Essex, also managed by Peverel.
The inept and protracted OFT inquiry into the Cirrus scandal – for which Peverel was disgracefully granted “leniency” – found that Peverel had cheated pensioners in £1.4 million tenders at 65 retirement sites.
The archive of Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation stories on this scandal is here
The OFT website with the collusive tendering ruling is here
Glyn Jackson Communication’s role was to make bogus pitches for business by bidding slightly higher than Peverel’s Cirrus subsidiary, which then won all the contracts.
Glyn Jackson Communications Limited, of which Glyn Jackson and Jayne Michelle Jackson were directors, went into liquidation in September 2012 while the OFT inquiry was in progress.
But in April 2012 they had already become directors of Safeguard Communication Systems Limited.
Safeguard is being employed by a subcontractor at Adelphi. Peverel says this was without its knowledge and Glyn Jackson will not be employed again.
After involvement in the Peverel / Cirrus collusive tendering scandal, Glyn Jackson is back at work at Peverel sites
On Monday Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation / LKP was contacted by an anonymous caller who was indignant that a proven price-fixing cheat was again working at Peverel sites. We contacted Peverel for an explanation.
Its full statement is below.
The OFT inquiry into the Cirrus scandal involved tendering scams between 2005 and 2009 – for most of which period Peverel, Cirrus and, of course, the retirement site freeholds themselves belonged to the Tchenguiz Family Trust. The scams predated Tchenguiz’s ownership of Peverel / Cirrus in late 2006.
The scandal has prompted Sir Peter Bottomley to say that there was ‘possible criminal behaviour involving Peverel’ over the tendering scams
More here
The other stooge companies involved in the Cirrus scandal were Peter O’Rourke Electrical, based in York, whose directors were Peter Alan O’Rourke and Tracey Sandra O’Rourke. It went into administration in June 2012 and so avoided fines of £15,933.
Only Owens Installations, based in Dorchester, is still operating with directors Jeremy David Owen and Joanne Owens. It – alone – paid a fine of £1,777.
Owen is the only person involved in the cartel – including past and present Cirrus operatives – who has expressed any remorse for cheating the most vulnerable and dependent in the community.
Of course, the prime culprit was Peverel / Cirrus itself, which escaped scot-free thanks to the OFT accepting the absurdity that Peverel had somehow turned itself in and therefore qualified for “leniency”.
Janet Entwistle, Peverel CEO, has assured Sir Peter Bottomley and Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation that all those involved in the collusive tendering have now left the company.
At a meeting with Sir Peter and Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation on February 10, Entwistle backed Andy Davey, Peverel’s “director of business excellence”, who was appointed head of Cirrus in 2007 – at the height of the collusive tendering scandal.
She assured the meeting that all those involved in the practice had now left the company.
The OFT decision to grant Peverel “leniency” in December 2009– and then to begin the inquiry a leisurely 18 months later – has infuriated politicians.
Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation had urged the authorities to act long before Peverel’s change of heart, including LibDem MP Ed Davey, now the Energy Secretary.
The Times newspaper even outlined the scam in detail on December 4 2009. Nonethless, the OFT – now dissolved – accepted that Peverel had turned itself in.
A month before Peverel accepted that the game was up its chief executive Nigel Bannister was quoted in The Times on November 7 2009 saying:
“People are reading a conspiracy into a problem that isn’t there. We use Cirrus because it is an excellent service.”
Nigel [Gordon] Bannister is now a director of Hawthorns Retirement UK Limited, Hawthorns Retirement Management Limited, Hawthorns Eastbourne Limited, Holiday Retirement (Eastbourne) Limited, Hawthorns Braintree Limited.
He is also a director of Freemont Property Managers Limited along with Keith (Alan) Edgar, a former managing director of Peverel Retirement and Philip James Cummings, also an ex-Peverel executive.
Peverel’s statement to Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation
Peverel Retirement uses independent third parties to manage tenders for all major works. Peverel Retirement has instructed these independent third parties not to issue any new work to Peter O’Rourke Electrical Limited, Owens Installations Limited, Glyn Jackson Communications Limited or any new companies that their previous management are now running.
At The Adelphi, after the independently-run tender process, residents chose Goldshield to install their new emergency call upgrade system.
Unfortunately, we have discovered [On being informed by Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation] that Glyn Jackson was subcontracted by Goldshield to carry out part of the work at The Adelphi without our knowledge. We have raised this with Goldshield and its management team has confirmed it will not subcontract any work to Glyn Jackson or Safeguard at any Peverel Retirement developments in the future.
We are reviewing our internal processes with a view to ensuring that this doesn’t happen again at any Peverel managed site.
Time will tell if Peverel and their appointed contractors have reformed themselves.
The Bible says repent and turn your faces away from all abominations.
The definition of repentance is as follows.
Reviewing ones actions and feeling contrition and regret for past wrongs. And involving a commitment to change and resolve to be more responsible in the future.
Is there any chance that Peverel has seen the light.
Sadly there is no chance of Peverel seeing the light. Where they could have paid cheated residents proper compensation they chose to offer an insulting goodwill gesture of £100,000 and they chose to pay their owner (Electra ) £6,100,000.
This clearly demonstrates that Peverel are in complete chaos. A basic check carried out by a property manager should have ensured at the very least that the firm contracted to do the work was actually doing it. Peverel should no longer give contracts to Goldshield either.
Forgive me if i am wrong on this, but was it not the case that having bidded higher than Cirrus for work, Glyn Jackson actually carried out work on some developments and told residents they were from Cirrus?
Michael,
What another farce from Peverel Retirement, Peverel Managing Services Ltd, Subsidiary of Peverel Services Ltd.
How is Glyn Jackson allowed to be a Director of a similar company that was placed into Administration and failed to pay £35,700 fine, which was the final straw for the camels back and led to the closure and removal of the OFT with another lame duck QUANGO?
As a Contracts Manager in a previous life a list of Sub-Contractors would have been a requirement from the Main Contractor.
Goldshield are in a small industry, they should have been aware of the Peverel/Cirrus/Glyn Jackson fiasco in 2011 to 2014, which covered Price Fixing from 2004/05 to 2009/10.
Glyn Jackson failed to participate in the OFT investigation, so how is he now running a similar company working again for Peverel Retirement?
Who in Peverel Retirement gave out this statement?
Was Safeguard Communication Services Ltd also allowed to tender as Glyn Jackson was when Peverel Management Services were involved with Cirrus Communication Services Ltd in the Price Fixing Cartel?
As for the ex Peverel Directors have they set up the new company to take on the Peverel Companies when they go to the wall?
Although I am appalled at this story, I am not in the least bit surprised.
Leopards and Spots come to mind.
As an Engineer I have worked and lived in many countries including UK. I have long maintained that the most corrupt and inefficient of ALL of them is the UK.
This story simply demonstrates that belief is true. Its incredibly sad …. BUT we have the government and the administration that WE ELECTED.
sad days that no-one in any regulatory agency let aloe the police have the bottle to sort this out.
As befits my degree in the bleeding obvious might i ask why it is that Peverel have immediately acknowledged that Glyn Jackson should not have been used nor will be used for any work on Peverel developments due to their role in the colusive tendering scam, why do they allow Cirrus to be used?
Aside from Peverel owning Cirrus can their be any other reason?
Michael,
Nothing that I have read or listened too recently shows Peverel Retirement as they really are?
They have no idea what is going on in their name?
The old guard still rules the roust?
Janet Entwistle is but a figure head who relies on Chris Owens as a mouth piece?
He continues to explain that we are all old farts who were Dribbling Geriatrics, before old farts?
The poor administration worker at Peverel Retirement are wrongly tarnished with the same brush.
The Senior Management which had 50 Area Managers and 5 Regional Managers are so entrenched in mediocrity that they are unable to see the wood for the trees.
Our VERY GOOD House Manager is leaving after 8 months when asked by a resident they broke into tears and tried to give the impression that they happy to leave?
I have seen the look on their face when I tried to explain that we were not unhappy with them?
I have been at Ashbrook Court since 2007 and we are now into our fifth Housing Manager when the new one is taken on.
Peverel Management Services Ltd, trading as Peverel Retirement COERCED Glyn Jackson into providing false tenders so they Peverel Management Services Ltd and their SISTER COMPANY CIRRUS COMMUNICATIONS would earn the £1.4 million they did between 2004/05 and 2009/10.
The company that was at fault was not:-
Glyn Jackson per say but:-
PEVERELS SISTER COMPANY CIRRUS COMMUNICATIONS WHO CONTINUES TO BE THE MAIN CONTRACTOR FOR THEIR OTHER SISTER COMPANY CARELINNEUK.
This was checked on the web site and we were looking under FAIR CONTRACTORS and FAIRY TAILS POPPED UP and the name Peverel Retirement Division?
I checked with Duedil and the facts are that Glyn Jackson set up a new company in 2012.
No wonder we are in so much **** when 8 months after the OFT (Office of Fantasy Tenders) were giving out fines to Glyn Jackson and informing Cirrus CARRY ON MATE?
I EXPECTED A PHONE CALL FROM SID JAMES AND KENNETH WILLIAMS, SAYING STOP MESSING ABOUT?
Michael,
Nothing that I have read or listened too recently shows Peverel Retirement as they really are?
They have no idea what is going on in their name?
The old guard still rules the roust?
Janet Entwistle is but a figure head who relies on Chris Owens as a mouth piece?
He continues to explain that we are all old farts who were Dribbling Geriatrics, before old farts?
The poor administration worker at Peverel Retirement are wrongly tarnished with the same brush.
The Senior Management which had 50 Area Managers and 5 Regional Managers are so entrenched in mediocrity that they are unable to see the wood for the trees.
Our VERY GOOD House Manager is leaving after 8 months when asked by a resident they broke into tears and tried to give the impression that they happy to leave?
I have seen the look on their face when I tried to explain that we were not unhappy with them?
I have been at Ashbrook Court since 2007 and we are now into our fifth Housing Manager when the new one is taken on.
Peverel Management Services Ltd, trading as Peverel Retirement COERCED Glyn Jackson into providing false tenders so they Peverel Management Services Ltd and their SISTER COMPANY CIRRUS COMMUNICATIONS would earn the £1.4 million they did between 2004/05 and 2009/10.
The company that was at fault was not:-
Glyn Jackson per say but:-
PEVERELS SISTER COMPANY CIRRUS COMMUNICATIONS WHO CONTINUES TO BE THE MAIN CONTRACTOR FOR THEIR OTHER SISTER COMPANY CARELINNEUK.
This was checked on the web site and we were looking under FAIR CONTRACTORS and FAIRY TAILS POPPED UP and the name Peverel Retirement Division?
I checked with Duedil and the facts are that Glyn Jackson set up a new company in 2012.
No wonder we are in so much **** when 8 months after the OFT (Office of Fantasy Tenders) were giving out fines to Glyn Jackson and informing Cirrus CARRY ON MATE?
I EXPECTED A PHONE CALL FROM SID JAMES AND KENNETH WILLIAMS, SAYING STOP MESSING ABOUT?
Michael,
How many other contracts have Safeguard Communications Services Ltd Sub-Contracted for any Peverel Company.
The Peverel Companies may own the development and be either known as Freeholder (Head Lessor) will be shown on the lease)
Landlord (Lessor) shown on the lease, this could be Peverel under another name such as a Meridian Housing Retirement or a similar name.
Managing Agent (Peverel Management Services Ltd) trading as Peverel Retirement (Peverel
Retirement Ltd is NON TRADING)???
It has taken me 2 years to have a small understanding of how they have managed to create such confusion as is necessary to cause the regular residents mind to boggle.
If any resident is aware that similar work has been carried out, by the main Contractor Goldshield, we can then check how many other developments Glyn Jackson has worked on since 2012?
The cost of the OFT investigation was £500,000.00 which should be added to the cost for Warden Call Systems and Fire Alarm Systems as we paid for the OFT investigation?
The fines that were levied some £57,000 actually only received £1,777.00 from Owens Communications who are still trading, are they working for Peverel Retirement.
Cirrus Is still the main contractor that Peverel Retirement use:-
WHY ARE PEVEREL RETIREMENT STILL USING A CONTACTOR WHO INSTGATED THE PRICE FIXING AND HAVE MADE A GREAT PLAY TO PREVENT GLYN JACKSON FROM SUB-CONTRACTING?
The problem is that owner operators are largely insulated from civil proceedings by their company. That is why someone can put a company into administration or wind it up and start with a new company tomorrow. It is only where matters are criminal (in law rather than an opinion) or the law provides, such as bankruptcy or disqualification, that the individual is prevented from starting over, at least as an owner.
this is no different to the dodgy builder on a tv show or real life- rather than have so many self regulating bodies which are so often compromised in their self policing of members because said members also fund them, we need licensing so that individuals can lose their licence to plumb, property manage, or install safety systems
Chas,
I would recommend that you study at the TFT Company Structure posted up at :
http://www.cqra.org/tchenquiz-structure/
After the Peverel Group of Companies were placed in Administration, the top 4 companies in the group were declared as insolvent and given the axe . The current “Peverel Group” taken over from Zolfo Cooper by Chamonix Private Equity and Electra for £ 62 Mil ( including £25 Mil loan from RBOS) probably includes the companies Nos. 9 – 56 in the structure. I have no idea if the £25 Mil loan from RBOS is the same as owed by Peverel HMF for mortgage of the HM flats ??? .
Ollie,
After taking a close look at both Electra and Peverel’s accounts, it would appear that the funds used in the buyout of Peverel that were not part of the RBS loan have been treated as a loan to Peverel. Interest charges of 9% – 15% are being levied. Electra appear to have taken £6.1m out of Peverel in the last trading year.
Ollie thanks for the contact today, I will be looking closer, at what we discussed:-
Following on from Peverel Retirement Statement regarding Glyn Jackson;
“Peverel Retirement has instructed these independent third parties not to issue any new work to Peter O’Rourke Electrical Limited, Owens Installations Limited, Glyn Jackson Communications Limited or any new companies that their previous management are now running”
Note: Peverel Retirement failed to name the new company SAFEGUARD COMMUNICATIONS, in the first paragraph?
Charles Says:
Note, Peverel use of the words Independent three times, to emphasise their credibility?
Peverel Cont.
“At The Adelphi, after the independently – run tender process, residents chose Goldshield to install their new emergency call upgrade system.”
Charles Says:
HOW WERE THE RESIDENTS ABLE TO CHOOSE WHEN THE CONTRACT WAS SENT OUT TO TENDER?
Chas,
How independent is Independent?
If Peverel can instruct the Independent third parties not to use these companies, presumably they could also instruct the independent third paries which companies to appoint?
Currently we are using UKBS as an independent third party for our development decorations. So far two quotes were extremely high, one suspiciuosly low. The independent third party (let’s call him Wayne) told be that” the first two quotes were from firms that bid high because they didn’t want the contract”
Thus far neither my property managwer or (let’s call him Wayne) have been able to show any examples of work carried out by the cheapest and preferred bidder. Meanwhile our property manager cannot give any examples of work carried out by (let’s call him Wayne). When asked as to why Peverel used UKBS (2013 profit around £7,200) i was told by my property manager “I always use (let’s call him Wayne”
This article was seen on the Charter Quay Residents Association Website regarding the Tchenguiz Brothers and the Peverel Group of Companies.
Charles Says:
1.One of the main reasons why leaseholders need to know about the structure of this group is to be aware if the managing agent is complying with regulation 7.4 of the RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code. This regulation obliges the managing agent to obtain at least two estimates for qualifying works “at least one of which must be from a firm wholly unconnected with you or the landlord”. Clearly if leaseholders do not know which companies are related to a landlord or managing agent there is no way they can know if regulation 7.4 is being correctly applied.
If Peverel according to 7.4 of RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code must:-
“at least one of which must be from a firm wholly unconnected with you or the landlord”.
When Peverel/Cirrus sent out tender’s for our Warden Call System in 2007, both Cirrus Communications and Glyn Jackson were not wholly unconnected as both Cirrus/Jackson were previously employed by Peverel as Sub-Contractors and had Price Fixed contracts so how were they wholly unconnected?
The Tchenguiz structure document was always intended to be an article set at a particular time. When started we did not know we were about to record the group as part of it fell into administration. The document attempted to detail almost all the group structure as it was understood at the time. A small group of companies were omitted from the list just in case others borrowed it for their own uses.
The notes were always intended to highlight some of the key issues. The inter company deals which we knew were happening on our site, but were also happening on many others, is the one you mention. It’s sad that three years later the notes still have relevance, despite the fact the sector has a raft of new initiatives, customer charters, standards compliance, best practice, fully supportive of all initiatives to raise standards, codes of practice and awards galore.
Yet the systems were not in place to prevent Mr Jackson, who is just a bit-part player, from slipping back into the system.
What we did not publish was the list of common directors, but as you might guess many names cropped up time and again across the group companies.
As has been made clear by Peverel, no member of staff linked to the bid-rigging remains with the group, no senior member of staff was aware of the practice and no director knew about the practice.
For five years a bunch of unnamed, rogue employees supposedly just ran a bid-rigging system with nobody having any idea what was going on, especially in Peverel Retirement.
That is, even though they signed off those 65 deals spread across the country and an unknown number of other contracts where the OFT asserts bid-rigging may have occurred.
In contrast, the judge in the last s27 Charter Quay case recorded about the property manager and our door entry system:
Her submission was that at her level employees did not know these companies were part of the group.
This begs the question that if the junior staff did not know about these things, and it is claimed that the senior staff did not know either, who did?
Or has someone been telling fibs?
As the judge said, it was astonishing that systems were not in place to tell employees they were going to enter contracts with related companies.
Martin, they are telling fibs. Those in the business especially most of those at middle and senior level will remember both the exuberant and the no nonsense former co owners. It was no secret when they sold out ,nor who to.
It is unlikely that a manager placing the contracts would have any choice as to whether to use another contractor, it simply would not be permitted by their senior managers. It is common practice in several of the large “sausage machine” property managers that the ” they are in a meeting” refers to a meeting to promote and cross sell, not to mention the incentives and targets, associated or cross owned companies.
“One stop shop” is all very well until you realise that when nearly 100 % of service charge expenses are directed into “the group” or otherwise subject to a commission or “commercial arrangement” investors quickly tire of good stable returns and they, and the dishonest, start to “milk” the cashflow, that results in the problems that you report here.
As my first senior partner counselled me ” be poacher or gamekeeper, decide now.” This lot went further and were the landowners too!
Martin,
Normally when a bunch of rogue employees hit upon a money making scam, it is with the intention of making a profit for themselves. How odd it would be for such a bunch to embark on such a high risk sophisticated fraud just to benefit their employers?
Did no member of management or any director ever wonder as to why profits suddenly increased?
If as Peverel assert no senior member of staff was aware of the practice, then surely as a senior member of management at the time Andrew Davey should take responsibility. Either he was part of the scam, or he should have known about it, or he should have ensured Peverel’s systems were robust enough to prevent it. He should resign!
Some might ask if they might have been too busy with their own “commercial arrangements” to notice …
At a meeting with Sir Peter Bottomley and Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation on February 10, Janet Entwistle backed Andy Davey, Peverel’s “Director of Business Excellence”, who was appointed head of Cirrus in 2007 – at the height of the Price Fixing, Collusive Tendering Scandal.
Yet, Andy Davey Director of Business Excellence was in charge of Cirrus Communication during the Price Fixing Scandal.
Janet Entwistle assured the meeting that all those involved in the practice had now left the company???
Note
The OFT decision to grant Peverel “leniency” in December 2009– and then to begin the inquiry a leisurely 18 months later – has infuriated politicians.
Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation had urged the authorities to act long before Peverel’s change of heart, including LibDem MP Ed Davey, now the Energy Secretary.
The Times newspaper even outlined the scam in detail on December 4 2009. Nonethless, the OFT – now dissolved – accepted that Peverel had turned itself in, you couldn’t make this up?