This article was written by the previous owner of bondreview in January 2021. It is being published because now that High Street GRP Ltd is in administration it will be interesting to see whether or not the prophecies came true. This article is 15 months old so it will obviously have been overtaken by events later in 2021.
Safe Or Scam has written two articles on the High Street GRP Ltd administration on its blog page.
Jan 2021 Article
On the turn of the year, High Street Group, which had already been overdue with its 2018 accounts by 15 months, fell overdue with its 2019 accounts as well.
Private limited companies must by law file accounts with Companies House nine months after the end of the accounting year. This deadline was temporarily extended to twelve months due to lockdown. High Street Commercial Finance Limited and High Street Grp Limited fell overdue with their December 2018 accounts in September 2019 and are now also overdue with their December 2019 accounts.
The company has repeatedly blamed the pandemic for both failure to repay investors’ money on time and for its failure to file accounts. Why the three month extension given by the Government to all businesses is not enough for High Street Group, and what this has to do with their December 2018 accounts which were overdue months before the pandemic started, has never been fully explained.
The company continues to secure positive coverage from local news outlets and endorsements from government officials, despite its offences against the Companies Act, following the completion of HSG’s Hadrian’s Tower, now the biggest feature on Newcastle’s skyline.
Cllr Ged Bell, Newcastle City Council cabinet member for Employment and Culture, said: “Hadrian’s Tower was incredibly ambitious, but it has set the standard for modern, luxury living in Newcastle and now has pride of place on the city’s increasingly-impressive skyline.
Sarah Green, Chief Executive of NewcastleGateshead Initiative [quango for promoting Newcastle and Gateshead commerce and tourism], said: “Hadrian’s Tower brings luxury accommodation coupled with concierge service to the heart of our city centre. This development demonstrates the quality of life our city can offer and helps position the region as a great place to relocate, as businesses and people re-consider their options post Covid.
“This investment by High Street Group is a signal of confidence in the region’s resilience as we look towards the future and I am sure, when it is safe to do so, there will be many celebrations at the top of Hadrian’s Tower in Newcastle’s first champagne bar at sky level.
Flats in Hadrian’s Tower were already being sold to investors before the ribbon was cut, marketed by property agents as offering “7% net yield guaranteed for 5 years”.