Penningtons Manches' group action lawyers instructed to act for investors in failed student flat and hotel developments

Posted: 19/11/2015

The Penningtons Manches specialist group action team led by David Niven has been instructed by more than 140 overseas and UK investors who purchased units in seven developments of student flats and hotels in relation to claims for the recovery of the sums lost against the solicitors who originally advised the investors. The developments are owned by a Mr Rafik Patel and his Key Homes companies in London, Bradford, Birmingham and Leicester. 

The 1300 units in the developments were sold ‘off plan’ generating around £50 million from investors in the Far East, Russia, South Africa and the UK. All of the development companies  are now in liquidation without any of the projects having been completed. 

The Penningtons Manches team is currently fighting on behalf of over 100 investors who lost substantial deposits in the failed Jewel of the Sea and El Caribe holiday developments in Calabria, Italy and has recently obtained judgments in favour of its clients. 

The team also acts for claimants on a number of Ponzi schemes. 

Commenting on this latest instruction, David Niven said: “While it is gratifying that we are being recommended to the claimants by our peers to handle this case, it is of wider concern that investors are not only losing significant sums of money on poorly conceived projects but have also been failed by firms of UK solicitors who were negligent in protecting their clients’ interests.”

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