The controversial FirstPort Retirement managing agent has been admitted into the Association of Residential Managing Agents FirstPort, formerly Peverel, was responsible for systematically cheating pensioners in retirement sites which resulted in an Office of Fair Trading ruling of bid rigging in December 2014. The scandal involved its subsidiary Cirrus competing for expensive electronic door entry […]
Kyle Court in Scotland: FirstPort just won’t spend our money
July 29, 2016 By
This is the sort of dilemma leasehold owners in retirement sites in England and Wales can only dream about. Residents at Kyle Court in Ayr, a McCarthy and Stone site built in 1992 and managed (inevitably) by FirstPort, want to spend around £8,000 in the contingency fund on painting balconies and the outside walls. But […]
Stonewater pensioners ‘turn to Freemont Property Managers for right to manage’
July 23, 2016 By
Pensioners at two Stonewater housing association retirement sites are said to be seeking right to manage using Freemont Property Managers – the company founded by ex-Peverel politburo members. Some held senior positions in the company when Peverel’s subsidiary Cirrus was systematically cheating pensioners in a price fixing racket that was busted by the Office of […]
ARMA regulator to rule on whether to admit FirstPort Retirement ‘within days’
June 10, 2016 By
After more than three months of deliberation, the Rt Hon Keith Hill, regulator of the Association of Residential Managing Agents, is poised to make a decision on whether Peverel / FirstPort Retirement is a fit and proper candidate to join the association. Alex Ellison, and others, made a series of complaints concerning Peverel / FirstPort […]
Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation tells Parliament: ‘feeling in retirement leasehold is that the bad guys always win’
March 25, 2016 By
Last Wednesday saw a session of Lord Best’s All Party Parliamentary Group on retirement housing and care. Sebastian O’Kelly, trustee of Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation / LKP, made the following points about private leasehold retirement housing to the APPG: In part, the elderly are not downsizing to retirement housing because they think they will […]
Andy Davey promoted. He headed Cirrus during Peverel’s price-fixing
January 28, 2015 By
Andy Davey, Peverel’s former head of business excellence and Cirrus executive, has been appointed MD of Appello Davey was the head of operations for Cirrus from 2002 and became head of the business from 2007 to 2009. The Peverel / Cirrus price-fixing scandal involved cheating pensioners at 65 sites by installing Cirrus equipment through bogus […]
Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation at Number 10
January 27, 2015 By
LKP / Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation were invited to 10 Downing Street for a meeting this afternoon to discuss the leasehold sector and the need for reform. Every area of the sector was discussed – including, at length, retirement housing – at a meeting that was held at the request of Sir Peter Bottomley, […]
‘Glib-tongued’ Cirrus in £26,071 works at Homefarris House
December 6, 2014 By
This letter from resident Anne Curran was posted in a comment on LKP, but is of more relevance to Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation. Any advice can be posted below, or send to sok@leaseholdknowledge.com and it will be forwarded. Doubtless after the issue has been raised publicly the dissidents of Homefarris House can expect a visit from […]
Cooee! Peverel becomes FirstPort and is heading for ARMA-Q … But will it be welcome?
December 5, 2014 By
Like the unwanted guest at a party, Peverel has put on some outlandish new clothes and now seeks to crash ARMA-Q. It is rolling out its new FirstPort brand, which means when you click on the Peverel website you are passed on to a new site. The change in name is taking place a year […]
Bottomley’s hard-hitting speech at Chartered Institute of Housing
October 10, 2014 By
Prepared speech by Sir Peter Bottomley MP (Worthing West) to the Chartered Institute of Housing Thursday October 9 2014 EVERY residential leasehold forfeiture should be reported to the Master of the Rolls Forfeiture is “nuclear weapon” in the hands of unscrupulous freeholders and judges “have the responsibility of having a sense of proportion” Evidence of […]
Peverel rebrand: is something up for sale?
September 9, 2014 By
The new company structure after the Peverel rebrand strongly suggests something is going to be sold. A useful schematic of the existing and future company structures is given here and above:
Any port in a storm … as Peverel changes its name to FirstPort
September 9, 2014 By
In what appears a desperate measure, Peverel is renaming itself FirstPort. In an announcement today all its property services businesses will be rebranded FirstPort, uniting them together under one brand. An expensive logo is doubtless underway, and be prepared for a deluge of queasy photographs of elderly residents in a state of rapture and joy. It […]
