HUNT IS ON FOR KING’S £50M
Bust tycoon’s assets could include plots of land in Scotland
Auditors probing bankrupt tycoon Greg King believe he has assets worth £ 50million – including several plots of land in Scotland.
The financier went bust after being accused of a £ 6million property scam in Gibraltar.
Authorities there say he was behind a fraudulent deal that saw investors’ money used to buy land for hugely inflated prices.
King has denied the claims and said he acted in good faith.
Now an insolvency firm working on behalf of one buyer – Advalorem Asset Fund – are investigating his assets to recoup the cash.
Administrators are looking at plots of land in Kirkintilloch in Dunbartonshire, Crieff in Perthshire and another near Stirling.
Adr ian Hyde, a par tner at London-based insolvency firm CVR Global, has been looking into the deals for two years.
He said the investigation was at an early stage but added: “It’s hard to put a figure on exactly what Greg King’s assets are worth.
“I have some information that it could be £40-£50million. The next step is getting everything valued.
“There’s a lot of information gathering going on at the moment.
“He has qui te extensive personal and business links and assets.
“At the moment we’re tr y ing to identify everyone who may be holding something and get detai ls of al l the companies and properties that he has an interest in – and make sure we take control of them.
“We’re still investigating and we don’t have too much idea of what he has in Scotland.
“But we understand there are various plots of land there, which are owned by companies that he used to invest in Gibraltar companies.
“There’s land in Crieff and some more land near Stirling. There’s also land in Kirkintil loch which is connected with Advalorem.”
According to the Gibraltarr Financial Services C ommi ss i o n ( F SC) , Advalorem Asset Fund bought land from King via various holding companies.
In December 2012, they paid £ 6million to Gibraltar company Thistle Holdings for two firms who owned farmland in Kirkintilloch.
The land, on a river f lood plain and protected from development, was wor th about £ 190,000, according to the FSC. A report by them said that before Advalorem bought the land, it passed through a string of companies in Gibraltar and the British Virgin Islands.
It claimed that those companies all belonged to King.
The FSC also said the £6million paid to Thistle ended up in one of King’s bank accounts.
They found King had originally paid just £305,000 for the 37-acre plot in 2008.
Despite planning permission on the site being previously refused, a report commissioned by Advalorem indicated that it would be likely to be granted because East Dunbartonshire Council needed the money, and the land was valued at £10.3million.
The FSC said Advalorem paid King’s company a deposit of more than £2.1million, with the balance completed by June 2013.
The case was referred to the Gibraltar police but a spokesman said there was not enough evidence to support a criminal prosecution.
King also set up hedge fund Heather Capital in 2005.
He once claimed it was a £500million business but it collapsed in 2010 with debts of about £ 400million.
King and three other businessmen are at the centre of embezzlement charges over the collapse of Heather’s lending arm Mathon Finance.
The investment was similar to the scheme that went bust in Gibraltar.
Glasgow-based law firm Levy & McRae face a legal claim of up to £28million from Heather’s liquidator Paul Duffy over the role they played in the firm.
We think there are various plots of land owned by firms he used