The Insolvency Service's petition to wind up five Store First companies has concluded with Store First and the Insolvency Service mutually agreeing that four of the companies will be wound up. A fifth, Store First Midlands, will be allowed to continue trading.
Store First's self storage business in general will continue in operation.
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The court case brought by Business Secretary Greg Clark against unregulated storage pod investment scheme Store First kicked off in Manchester's Business and Property Court on Monday.
Representing the Secretary of State, Paul Chaisty QC alleged that Store First raised £206 million from investors on the basis of "misleading information and testimonials”. The Government believes that Store First and related companies should be wound up to protect investors.
Store First insists that the scheme is viable and that winding the business up would cause investors to lose their money.
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A winding-up petition launched by the Insolvency Service against unregulated store pod investment scheme Store First begins in the Manchester arm of the High Court today.
According to the Telegraph, the court session is due to last three weeks.
At the end, the court will decide whether Store First should be allowed to continue operating or whether it should be wound up and any assets distributed to its creditors.
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Group First, the parent company of the Store First and Park First investment opportunities, has recently filed its accounts for the year ending June 2018, as have its subsidiaries.
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A court date has finally been set for the Government's winding up petition against Store First and related companies.
The winding up petition was originally announced back in July 2017, but was then adjourned. The trial is now due to take place on 15 April 2019 (almost two years after the original announcement) at the Manchester District Registry of the High Court.
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The Group First group of companies, comprising the unregulated store pod investment scheme Store First and the unregulated car park space investment scheme Park First, has just filed the group's accounts for the period ending June 2017.
Some selected highlights of the accounts follow. Anyone seeking a full picture of the companies' accounts should consult the originals on Companies House, where they can be downloaded for free.
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Store First offered investors the opportunity to invest in storage pods with the promise of an 8% "guaranteed" return in the early years.
The returns have long since dried up; an investor has told us that they received the promised "guaranteed" returns for 12 months but these payments then stopped. We are not aware of any owner of a Store First pod successfully selling their investment either back to Store First or a third party. With no yield and no secondary market, this means Store First pods are effectively worthless.
On top of this, Store First has recently written to investors to tell them that they are liable to pay business rates to Barnsley Council (and not, as the Valuation Office had previously argued, Store First itself).
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