Landlords Own 40% Ex Council Housesx - GMB

GMB@WORK 

Landlords Own 40% Ex Council Houses 

Millionaire elite own large number of the 40% ex council dwellings in wandsworth that are now 

owned by private landlords GMB investigation shows. 

While ordinary London families are unable to find council house to rent rich farmers are scooping 

them up by the tractor load as Thatcher’s "right to buy" turns into rich harvest for greedy farmers 

and elite says GMB. 

Of 15,874 dwellings in council blocks in Wandsworth where tenants acquired the leasehold under 

"right to buy" legislation some 6,180 dwellings are now owned by private landlords who rent them to 

private tenants. That is nearly 40% of the total sold by the council. 

There are 977 private landlords who own more than one of these 6,180 dwellings. One private 

landlord owns 93, another owns 32, another 15 landlords each own 10 or more and a further 83 

landlords each own between 5 and 9 of these dwellings. 

These figures are from Wandsworth Council. GMB submitted an FOI request to the council listing 

known owners of leaseholds and asking how many properties they own. This was refused by the 

council under Section 21(1) on grounds that "Information reasonably accessible to the applicant by 

other means". 

GMB then used the Land Registry to investigate who are the landlords in 69 blocks of flats in 

Wandsworth. The search covered 1,438 leasehold properties where the council is the freehold 

owner. Of the 1,438 leasehold properties searched, 508 (35%) have a registered owner different 

from the property address. 

The report, which is attached to this release as a pdf, contains the results of what GMB found on the 

public record as part of the investigation using the Land Registry and other sources. Below and in 

notes to editors is the information GMB has established on some of the main landlords. 

The Gows: Looking at a single block in Putney (Sherfield Gardens), it was found that out of the 120 

properties, 90 are leasehold, with 62 having an owner with a different address (or known to live 

elsewhere). Of these 62 properties, Charles and Karin Gow own 40 with Charles alone owning 35 of 

these. He owns KCG Property (www.kcgproperty.com), a Roehampton Lettings and Management 

company, and both are directors of PCB (Surrey) LLP. Wandsworth says only one owner has more 

than 32 properties so Charles Gow may own the 93 properties mentioned. 

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The Smiths: The Birkett Smiths own properties across London through the Guernsey incorporated 

companies Chelsea Estates Ltd and Birkett Estates Ltd. They also have a number of properties 

registered in their own names: Alexander Birkett Smith, his wife Helena, brother Nicholas and his 

wife Alexandra. From our searches, Chelsea Estates Ltd own 30. With a related company, Birkett 

Estates and individuals of these companies, the total owned in Wandsworth is at least 66. Alexander 

is an ex venture capitalist having worked for Rothschild’s before setting up his residential property 

business, with his brother, and running two farms near Scarborough which are in receipt of 

European Farm subsidy payments. The brothers are directors of Daleside Estates Ltd, Smith Street 

Ltd, Overdale Farms Ltd and Smith Street Estates Ltd. Nicholas is also a director of the Portman 

Hunt, a Dorset based Hunt, and Daniel Lambert Ltd along with his wife Alexandra. 

Palmyra Properties: The Palmyra Properties, CPIF group of companies own 46 leasehold properties 

where Wandsworth Borough own the freehold. Palmyra Properties is Jersey based, CPIF Property, 

incorporated in Guernsey, Affordable Property Investments incorporated in the British Virgin Islands 

and Skyprops is incorporated in Mauritius. 

Of the other companies searched, Drumree Asset Holdings (1 property) and Entreprises Generalles 

(Investissements) (1 property) are both incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. 

Cherwell Investments Ltd (cherwellinvestments.com): Cherwell Investments own 11 leasehold 

properties where Wandsworth Borough own the freehold. Directors are Alexander Thompson and 

Thomas Holroyd, both directors of several other property investment companies. The website states 

that they own ‘a large number of properties in a small area of London (SW4, SW11, SW12 and 

SW18) We have focused on this for the past 20 years……We are constantly adding to and upgrading 

our portfolio in the Battersea, Balham, Clapham and Wandsworth area. 

The Lockes: Marcus and Susan Locke own at least 11 leasehold properties where Wandsworth 

Borough own the freehold. Marcus is an LLP member of High Holborn LLP, director of 373 New 

Kings Road Freehold Ltd (letting of property) and juststjohn.com ltd. 

Paul Kenny, GMB General Secretary, said “This investigation lays bare the harsh reality of the 

exploitation of our social housing stock. It shows private businesses making vast profits from the 

public purse while the people these homes were built for sit on waiting lists that never move. To add 

insult to injury many are using offshore tax havens to avoid paying tax on these profits. 

These homes were built and designed to be rented by ordinary London families. The investigation 

exposes Mrs Thatcher’s flagship policy of "right to buy" for individuals as nothing more than a 





charter for the exploitation of our social housing for private profit. Her plan to create a home owning 

democracy has turned into a "buy to let" bonanza. 

You could not make it up that the family of one of Mrs Thatcher’s aides who served as housing 

minister during the high tide of the right to buy ends up owning a vast swathe of London’s ex 

council housing. While tens of thousands of ordinary London families are unable to find council 

house to rent rich farmers and the elite are scooping them up by the tractor load. The "right to buy" 

has turned into a rich harvest for greedy farmers and others." 

End 

Contact Paul Maloney GMB Regional Secretary 07901 343 839 or Paul Grafton 07714 239 093 

Wandsworth Housing Report 

Notes to Editors 

1 Check appendix A to the attached report for information on 69 blocks of flats in Wandsworth on 

the estates in SW11 2, SW11 3, SW11 4, SW11 5, SW11 6, SW12 8, SW12 9 and a single block in 

SW15 4. 

This information has been downloaded from publically accessible records from the Land Registry, 

the official land registration service for England and Wales. The Land Registry provides details on 

the registered owners of property and land. It is compulsory to register all land and property which 

changes ownership or has a mortgage for the first time. Since 1990 the Land Registry has been 

open to public inspection governed by Section 66 of the Land Registration Act 2002 which provides 

for register information to be publically available. Further details are available from 

http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/. 

2 The summary table below shows all individuals with 2 or more properties and all companies 

searched: 

Wandsworth 

leaseholds 

Total Leaseholds ALL AREAS** 

CHELSEA ESTATES 30 51 





LIMITED 

BIRKETT ESTATES 9 19 

LIMITED 

Alexander James Birkett 10 

Smith* 

Alexandra Clara Smith* 2 

Helena Catherine Smith*6 

Nicholas Joseph Birkett 9 

Smith* 

TOTAL 66 

PALMYRA 

20 23 

PROPERTIES LIMITED 

CPIF PROPERTY 13 20 

LIMITED 

THE FERRYVIEW 2 3 

PARTNERSHIP LLP 

AFFORDABLE 6 

PROPERTY 

INVESTMENTS 

LIMITED 

SKYPROPS LIMITED 3 6 

Richard James Verdin 2 

and Christopher Neil 

Kemsley* 

TOTAL 46 

Charles Edward Gow* 35 

Karin Gow* 5 

TOTAL 40 

CHERWELL 

11 21 

INVESTMENTS 

LIMITED 

Marcus Julian Locke* 11 

Anna & Khrysztof 

Sanczuk* 

10 





ALLIANCE AND 3 63 

MUTUAL INVESTMENT 

COMPANY (2002) 

LIMITED 

LAKEVIEW ESTATES 3 19 

(UK) LIMITED 

LAKEVIEW 

1 9 

PROPERTIES (UK) 

LIMITED 

TOTAL 7 

DESIMAN LIMITED 6 74 

Narayanamoorthy 6 

Sriganesh 

Amery Scott* 6 

Lady Blomefield* 5 

SIMON PROPERTY 4 12 

LIMITED 

Shailesh Gandhi* 4 

Timothy Michael Charles4 

Kirk and Michelle Galea 

Kirk* 

Nigel William Pittam And 4 

Jill Pittam* 

SALIENT 

3 15 

INVESTMENTS 

LIMITED 

P J PROPERTIES & 3 5 

CONSULTANCY 

LIMITED 

V K PROPERTIES 3 5 

LIMITED 

WONTLE OTTMAW 3 4 


Valeriy Bogoslovskyy 3 





And Nicolai Adelman* 

David Chapman And 3 

Jennifer Anne 

Chapman* 

Thomas William Wright* 3 

CHEROKEE 

2 3 

PROJECTS LIMITED 

GREEN PASTURES 2 2 

(SOUTH) LIMITED 

PEGASUS NETWORKS 2 2 

LIMITED 

WESTMINSTER MEAT 2 2 

MARKET LIMITED 

Mouaffaq Alassad and 2 

Margaret Alassad* 

Gergana Stoimenova 2 

Bozukova* 

Bruce Howard Burkitt* 2 

Giles Edward Chapman 2 

and Anna-Karin 

Chapman* 

John Richard Corner* 2 

Gordon Patrick D'Silva* 2 

Akil Nurali Esmail* 2 

Ade Ibrahim Fabunmi- 2 

Stone and Pauline 

Jennifer Fabunmi-Stone* 

Nina Giani* 2 

Genia Goldman* 2 

Zahid Pervez Hanif* 2 

Eloise Mary-Rose 2 

Howard* 

Milutin Jevtovic* 2 

Garvin Alfred 

2 

Manamperi Karunaratne 

and Dahanayake 

Liyanage Bimba 





Karunaratne* 

Simon Kinzley* 2 

Zack Laurence* 2 

Jonathan Paul Marshall* 2 

Carole Antwi Nuamah* 2 

Patricia Margaret Lilian 2 

Pledger* 

Yvonne Lorraine 2 

Tulloch* 

Andrew Daniel Wallis* 2 

Parameswaran Ramesh 2 

and Jegatheeswary 

Ramesh* 

AC BATTERSEA 1 1 

LIMITED 

DRUMREE ASSET 1 1 

HOLDINGS INC 

EAGLETON 

1 5 


ENTREPRISES 1 4 

GENERALES 

(INVESTISSEMENTS) 

LIMITED 

HERECROFT ESTATES1 4 

LIMITED 

J.V. PROPERTIES (UK) 1 5 

LIMITED 

M. A. GARMENTS 1 

(LONDON) LTD 

MIGHTY Y LTD 1 

OAKLEY 31 LIMITED 1 

PROPERTY NETWORK 1 21 

(KA) LIMITED 

RINGDALE LIMITED 1 5 

T. BRO INVESTMENT 

LIMITED 

1 30 





THAXTED BUILDERS 

LIMITED 

1 

8 

* The individuals ownerships of the leaseholds only includes those that we have located and 

searched. The company ownerships are total figures as the Land Registry allows searching on 

companies 

** Total Leaseholds all areas - outside of Wandsworth these are all leasehold owned properties but 

the respective councils are not necessarily the freehold owner 

Millionaire elite own large number of the 40% ex council dwellings in wandsworth that are now 

owned by private landlords GMB investigation shows. 

While ordinary London families are unable to find council house to rent rich farmers are scooping 

them up by the tractor load as Thatcher’s "right to buy" turns into rich harvest for greedy farmers 

and elite says GMB. 

Of 15,874 dwellings in council blocks in Wandsworth where tenants acquired the leasehold under 

"right to buy" legislation some 6,180 dwellings are now owned by private landlords who rent them to 

private tenants. That is nearly 40% of the total sold by the council. 

There are 977 private landlords who own more than one of these 6,180 dwellings. One private 

landlord owns 93, another owns 32, another 15 landlords each own 10 or more and a further 83 

landlords each own between 5 and 9 of these dwellings. 

These figures are from Wandsworth Council. GMB submitted an FOI request to the council listing 

known owners of leaseholds and asking how many properties they own. This was refused by the 

council under Section 21(1) on grounds that "Information reasonably accessible to the applicant by 

other means". 

GMB then used the Land Registry to investigate who are the landlords in 69 blocks of flats in 

Wandsworth. The search covered 1,438 leasehold properties where the council is the freehold 

owner. Of the 1,438 leasehold properties searched, 508 (35%) have a registered owner different 

from the property address. 

The report, which is attached to this release as a pdf, contains the results of what GMB found on the 





public record as part of the investigation using the Land Registry and other sources. Below and in 

notes to editors is the information GMB has established on some of the main landlords. 

The Gows: Looking at a single block in Putney (Sherfield Gardens), it was found that out of the 120 

properties, 90 are leasehold, with 62 having an owner with a different address (or known to live 

elsewhere). Of these 62 properties, Charles and Karin Gow own 40 with Charles alone owning 35 of 

these. He owns KCG Property (www.kcgproperty.com), a Roehampton Lettings and Management 

company, and both are directors of PCB (Surrey) LLP. Wandsworth says only one owner has more 

than 32 properties so Charles Gow may own the 93 properties mentioned. 

The Smiths: The Birkett Smiths own properties across London through the Guernsey incorporated 

companies Chelsea Estates Ltd and Birkett Estates Ltd. They also have a number of properties 

registered in their own names: Alexander Birkett Smith, his wife Helena, brother Nicholas and his 

wife Alexandra. From our searches, Chelsea Estates Ltd own 30. With a related company, Birkett 

Estates and individuals of these companies, the total owned in Wandsworth is at least 66. Alexander 

is an ex venture capitalist having worked for Rothschild’s before setting up his residential property 

business, with his brother, and running two farms near Scarborough which are in receipt of 

European Farm subsidy payments. The brothers are directors of Daleside Estates Ltd, Smith Street 

Ltd, Overdale Farms Ltd and Smith Street Estates Ltd. Nicholas is also a director of the Portman 

Hunt, a Dorset based Hunt, and Daniel Lambert Ltd along with his wife Alexandra. 

Palmyra Properties: The Palmyra Properties, CPIF group of companies own 46 leasehold properties 

where Wandsworth Borough own the freehold. Palmyra Properties is Jersey based, CPIF Property, 

incorporated in Guernsey, Affordable Property Investments incorporated in the British Virgin Islands 

and Skyprops is incorporated in Mauritius. 

Of the other companies searched, Drumree Asset Holdings (1 property) and Entreprises Generalles 

(Investissements) (1 property) are both incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. 

Cherwell Investments Ltd (cherwellinvestments.com): Cherwell Investments own 11 leasehold 

properties where Wandsworth Borough own the freehold. Directors are Alexander Thompson and 

Thomas Holroyd, both directors of several other property investment companies. The website states 

that they own ‘a large number of properties in a small area of London (SW4, SW11, SW12 and 

SW18) We have focused on this for the past 20 years……We are constantly adding to and upgrading 

our portfolio in the Battersea, Balham, Clapham and Wandsworth area. 

The Lockes: Marcus and Susan Locke own at least 11 leasehold properties where Wandsworth 





Borough own the freehold. Marcus is an LLP member of High Holborn LLP, director of 373 New 

Kings Road Freehold Ltd (letting of property) and juststjohn.com ltd. 

Paul Kenny, GMB General Secretary, said “This investigation lays bare the harsh reality of the 

exploitation of our social housing stock. It shows private businesses making vast profits from the 

public purse while the people these homes were built for sit on waiting lists that never move. To add 

insult to injury many are using offshore tax havens to avoid paying tax on these profits. 

These homes were built and designed to be rented by ordinary London families. The investigation 

exposes Mrs Thatcher’s flagship policy of "right to buy" for individuals as nothing more than a 

charter for the exploitation of our social housing for private profit. Her plan to create a home owning 

democracy has turned into a "buy to let" bonanza. 

You could not make it up that the family of one of Mrs Thatcher’s aides who served as housing 

minister during the high tide of the right to buy ends up owning a vast swathe of London’s ex 

council housing. While tens of thousands of ordinary London families are unable to find council 

house to rent rich farmers and the elite are scooping them up by the tractor load. The "right to buy" 

has turned into a rich harvest for greedy farmers and others." 

End 

Contact Paul Maloney GMB Regional Secretary 07901 343 839 or Paul Grafton 07714 239 093 

Wandsworth Housing Report 

Notes to Editors 

1 Check appendix A to the attached report for information on 69 blocks of flats in Wandsworth on 

the estates in SW11 2, SW11 3, SW11 4, SW11 5, SW11 6, SW12 8, SW12 9 and a single block in 

SW15 4. 

This information has been downloaded from publically accessible records from the Land Registry, 

the official land registration service for England and Wales. The Land Registry provides details on 

the registered owners of property and land. It is compulsory to register all land and property which 

changes ownership or has a mortgage for the first time. Since 1990 the Land Registry has been 

open to public inspection governed by Section 66 of the Land Registration Act 2002 which provides 

for register information to be publically available. Further details are available from 





http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/. 

2 The summary table below shows all individuals with 2 or more properties and all companies 

searched: 

Wandsworth 

leaseholds 

Total Leaseholds ALL AREAS** 

CHELSEA ESTATES 30 51 

LIMITED 

BIRKETT ESTATES 9 19 

LIMITED 

Alexander James Birkett 10 

Smith* 

Alexandra Clara Smith* 2 

Helena Catherine Smith*6 

Nicholas Joseph Birkett 9 

Smith* 

TOTAL 66 

PALMYRA 

20 23 


CPIF PROPERTY 13 20 

LIMITED 

THE FERRYVIEW 2 3 

PARTNERSHIP LLP 

AFFORDABLE 6 

PROPERTY 

INVESTMENTS 

LIMITED 

SKYPROPS LIMITED 3 6 

Richard James Verdin 2 

and Christopher Neil 

Kemsley* 

TOTAL 46 





Charles Edward Gow* 35 

Karin Gow* 5 

TOTAL 40 

CHERWELL 

11 21 

INVESTMENTS 

LIMITED 

Marcus Julian Locke* 11 

Anna & Khrysztof 

Sanczuk* 

10 

ALLIANCE AND 3 63 

MUTUAL INVESTMENT 

COMPANY (2002) 

LIMITED 

LAKEVIEW ESTATES 3 19 

(UK) LIMITED 

LAKEVIEW 

1 9 

PROPERTIES (UK) 

LIMITED 

TOTAL 7 

DESIMAN LIMITED 6 74 

Narayanamoorthy 6 

Sriganesh 

Amery Scott* 6 

Lady Blomefield* 5 

SIMON PROPERTY 4 12 

LIMITED 

Shailesh Gandhi* 4 

Timothy Michael Charles4 

Kirk and Michelle Galea 

Kirk* 

Nigel William Pittam And 4 

Jill Pittam* 

SALIENT 3 15 





INVESTMENTS 

LIMITED 

P J PROPERTIES & 3 5 

CONSULTANCY 

LIMITED 

V K PROPERTIES 3 5 

LIMITED 

WONTLE OTTMAW 3 4 


Valeriy Bogoslovskyy 3 

And Nicolai Adelman* 

David Chapman And 3 

Jennifer Anne 

Chapman* 

Thomas William Wright* 3 

CHEROKEE 

2 3 

PROJECTS LIMITED 

GREEN PASTURES 2 2 

(SOUTH) LIMITED 

PEGASUS NETWORKS 2 2 

LIMITED 

WESTMINSTER MEAT 2 2 

MARKET LIMITED 

Mouaffaq Alassad and 2 

Margaret Alassad* 

Gergana Stoimenova 2 

Bozukova* 

Bruce Howard Burkitt* 2 

Giles Edward Chapman 2 

and Anna-Karin 

Chapman* 

John Richard Corner* 2 

Gordon Patrick D'Silva* 2 

Akil Nurali Esmail* 2 

Ade Ibrahim Fabunmi- 2 

Stone and Pauline 

Jennifer Fabunmi-Stone* 





Nina Giani* 

2 

Genia Goldman* 2 

Zahid Pervez Hanif* 2 

Eloise Mary-Rose 2 

Howard* 

Milutin Jevtovic* 2 

Garvin Alfred 

2 

Manamperi Karunaratne 

and Dahanayake 

Liyanage Bimba 

Karunaratne* 

Simon Kinzley* 2 

Zack Laurence* 2 

Jonathan Paul Marshall* 2 

Carole Antwi Nuamah* 2 

Patricia Margaret Lilian 2 

Pledger* 

Yvonne Lorraine 2 

Tulloch* 

Andrew Daniel Wallis* 2 

Parameswaran Ramesh 2 

and Jegatheeswary 

Ramesh* 

AC BATTERSEA 1 1 

LIMITED 

DRUMREE ASSET 1 1 

HOLDINGS INC 

EAGLETON 

1 5 


ENTREPRISES 1 4 

GENERALES 

(INVESTISSEMENTS) 

LIMITED 

HERECROFT ESTATES1 4 

LIMITED 

J.V. PROPERTIES (UK) 1 5 




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LIMITED 

M. A. GARMENTS 1 

(LONDON) LTD 

MIGHTY Y LTD 1 

OAKLEY 31 LIMITED 1 

PROPERTY NETWORK 1 21 

(KA) LIMITED 

RINGDALE LIMITED 1 5 

T. BRO INVESTMENT 1 30 

LIMITED 

THAXTED BUILDERS 

LIMITED 

1 8 

* The individuals ownerships of the leaseholds only includes those that we have located and 

searched. The company ownerships are total figures as the Land Registry allows searching on 

companies 

** Total Leaseholds all areas - outside of Wandsworth these are all leasehold owned properties but 

the respective councils are not necessarily the freehold owner

Landlords Own 40% Ex Council Housesx - GMB

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