Property company that hoped to be quids in with cultural investment goes into liquidation

The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills has presented a petition in the High Court in London to wind up the business which sold shares in itself to the general public. The idea had been to capitalise on the culture status of various property markets and thereby benefit from a surge in property values associated with the award.
 
But it failed to do well because of the global economic downturn and now the petition to wind up the company has been presented following an investigation carried out by Companies Investigation Branch under section 447 of the Companies Act 1985 (as amended).
 
The Official Receiver has been appointed provisional liquidator of European Property Management with the role of protecting assets in the possession or under the control of the company pending the determination of the petition.
 
The provisional liquidator also has the power to investigate the affairs of the company insofar as it is necessary to protect the assets including any third party or trust monies or assets in the possession of or under the control of the company.
 
The case is now subject to High Court action and no further information will be made available until the petition is heard in the High Court in London on May 11 2010.
 
Attaining European Capital of Culture status has generally been regarded as resulting in demand for real estate in the cities concerned. Cities such as Liverpool, Barcelona both saw property prices rise and this year’s chosen location, Istanbul, is predicted to see price increases of up to 40%.