DEALS to sell seven empty properties in Rhyl have now been agreed, according to the man who says his company owned them, weeks after they were pulled from auction at short notice.
Through Land Registry, the Journal has obtained the details regarding who owns, and how much they paid for, these properties. They have previously been guest houses, B&Bs or pubs, and have provided temporary accommodation to homeless residents. They are as follows:
- 35 River Street, Rhyl – last sold for £250,000 on December 5, 2023 (registered owners – Social Value Housing, leased to Sanctuary Trust on July 29, 2024).
- 40 River Street, Rhyl – last sold for £265,000 on November 11, 2022 (registered owners - Big Help Holiday Homes Ltd).
- 42 River Street, Rhyl – last sold for £260,000 on September 30, 2021 (registered owners - Big Help Trading Co Ltd).
- 44 River Street, Rhyl – last sold for £295,000 on May 19, 2023 (registered owners – Social Value Housing).
- 48 River Street, Rhyl – last sold for £245,000 on February 26, 2021 (registered owners - Big Help Homes CIC).
- 31 Vale Road, Rhyl – last sold for £280,000 on July 27, 2022 (registered owners - Big Impact MA Ltd).
- 56 East Parade, Rhyl – last sold for £159,000 on 24 March 2014 (registered owners – John Lloyd and Rita Mary Lloyd).
In the case of six of them, there is a common denominator. Peter Mitchell, a former Labour councillor in Liverpool, is listed as an active director of Social Value Housing, Big Help Holiday Homes Ltd, Big Help Trading Co Ltd, Big Help Homes CIC, and Big Impact MA Ltd.
Companies with the “Big Help” name are subsidiaries under the “Big Help Group” umbrella. Another of them, Big Help Project, is a charity providing temporary accommodation, but is currently subject to a Charity Commission inquiry after a significant increase in its reported income was identified.
‘Good news’
Mr Mitchell told the Journal on September 2 that, despite what Land Registry states, Social Value Housing owned all seven properties, and has now agreed to sell them all.
He said: “It’s impossible for me to comment on the Land Registry (data), except to say that, since COVID, they are years behind.
“The reason why we’re able to sell those properties is we’ve got completion statements (for them), and we’re able to prove we’re the owners.
“The good news is we’ve now reached agreements to sell all seven, through private treaty, to three different purchasers. They’re all involved in supported housing.
“Assuming all of the legals go through in the normal way, they’ll all be done by the end of the month.”
What Land Registry said
A Land Registry spokesperson told the Journal on September 2: “There are currently no pending applications against any of them.
“Properties can be bought, marketed and sold on quickly, but we are not informed until such time as someone makes an application for registration of the transaction.
“So, until we receive an application to update the register with regard to a purchase/new owner, we are unaware of any activity in relation to the title number concerned.”
The UK Government’s website states: “You must register all land or property with HM Land Registry if you’ve bought it, been given it, inherited it, received it in exchange for other property or land, or mortgaged the property.”
Social Value Housing (35 and 44 River Street)
Social Value Housing bought 35 River Street for £250,000 in December 2023 and 44 River Street for £295,000 in May 2023.
But according to the latest set of filleted accounts it filed on Companies House, as of April 29, 2023, it had current assets of £149,647, and only £13,757 of this was “cash at bank and in hand”.
It also had liabilities expected to be paid within a year totalling £276,728, so was essentially in £127,081 of debt.
There is also no charge listed on its Companies House page for either of the Rhyl properties, meaning Social Value Housing paid for them outright, rather than taking out mortgages on them.
Big Help Holiday Homes Ltd (40 River Street)
There is an active proposal to strike this company off – an initial application was lodged in April, only for it to be suspended a week later.
Big Help Holiday Homes Ltd also files filleted accounts. According to its balance sheet, on August 31, 2022, it had current assets of £51,143, and net assets of just £3,742.
Despite this, it bought 40 River Street in November 2022 for £250,000 – again, there is no charge, so it paid for it outright, rather than via a mortgage.
Then, on its 2023 accounts, only motor vehicles were listed as the company’s “tangible fixed assets”.
Big Help Trading Co Ltd (42 River Street)
Big Help Trading Co Ltd also files filleted accounts. It bought 42 River Street in September 2021 for £260,000 – again, outright, without the need for a mortgage.
Yet its balance sheet states that, as of March 30, 2021, it had current assets of £226,287 (£11,380 of which was “cash at bank and in hand”) and net current assets of £167,235.
Big Help Homes CIC (48 River Street)
Big Help Homes, a community interest company, also files filleted accounts. In February 2021, it bought 48 River Street for £245,000.
But its filleted accounts state that, as of January 31, 2021, it had current assets of £223,042 (£158,924 of which was “cash at bank and in hand”), and net assets of just £222.
Big Impact MA Ltd (31 Vale Road)
No accounts were ever filed for Big Impact MA Ltd between its incorporation in March 2022 and its dissolution in March 2024. All that is shared about it on Companies House is its initial shareholdings, which amounted to £100.
Of this amount, £50 in shares was taken out by the now-dissolved real estate business Belgravia Asa Trading Ltd, and the other £50 by another company under the “Big Help” umbrella, Big Help Green Ltd.
John and Rita Lloyd (56 East Parade)
There appears to be no link between Mr and Mrs Lloyd and Mr Mitchell.
The Journal understands a cash offer of £185,000 was made by Big Help representatives for this property in the spring of 2023, with a view to using it to house homeless veterans, but Land Registry’s records suggest no such deal was finalised.
The auctions that never happened
All seven were initially listed for online auction in July with estate agents Allsop “by order of a charity”, but none of the relevant legal documents were attached to their auction pages. When contacted, Allsop could not disclose why they were withdrawn.
In August, three of these properties – 56 East Parade, and 40 and 48 River Street – were put back up for auction via estate agents Sutton Kersh. No legal documents were attached to these properties’ auction pages on this occasion, either.
On August 29, all three properties’ auctions, scheduled for September 10, were postponed. On September 2, a Sutton Kersh representative said they were pulled from auction because it didn’t have “formal instruction” for them, but hoped they would be re-listed for an October auction.
READ MORE:
Seven Rhyl properties due to go to auction taken off the market
Rhyl property leased to homelessness charity a day before auction
Rhyl properties due to go back on market are pulled from auction again
‘Irrelevant’
It was put to Mr Mitchell by the Journal that Land Registry has said there is nothing pending against any of them. He replied: “We owned them all. I don’t care what the Land Registry says, because it’s out of date and irrelevant.”
Asked why a Sutton Kersh representative said earlier on September 2 it hopes to re-list three of them for auction in October, he said: “They’re not going to be. They were sold on Friday (August 30). They won’t be re-listed for next week, next month, or whenever.”
When Sutton Kersh was contacted again on September 3, it said it was unaware deals had been agreed for the properties to be sold.
Mr Mitchell said Social Value Housing “never used any mortgages” to buy the Rhyl properties because they were bought with “private equity investment” – the source of this money, he said, was “commercially sensitive”.
Homelessness is far from a problem exclusive to Denbighshire or Rhyl, but it is a significant one nonetheless. In 2023-24, Denbighshire County Council spent a grant of more than £7million to address housing issues, and as of 2023, there were more than 300 Denbighshire households in emergency or temporary accommodation. This year, there have been multiple instances of “homeless camps” being set up along Rhyl’s promenade, meanwhile.
These seven Rhyl properties have previously gone some way to addressing these issues, by offering refuge, even if only temporary, to those who are in the most dire need of it. For now, at least, they lie dormant and empty.
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