William Jackson – Part 2: The Platinum Companies, West Chevington Farm, and Coffees with Gary Forrest

William ‘Billy’ Jackson recently contacted us to complain about a blog post discussing  Northumberland Living, one of his companies. After reviewing the blog, we decided not to make any  changes or take it down. This complaint piqued our interest, having drawn attention to himself and  after further research, we concluded that Billy was worthy of a Part 2. 

Initial Findings: WJ Developments and Platinum One Marketing 

Our investigation into William Jackson led us back to WJ Developments Limited and Platinum One  Marketing Company Ltd. Initially, these companies didn’t show up under William’s directorships  because his birth month was incorrectly listed as July, instead of June, which is used for his other  records. 

Platinum One Marketing Company Ltd is one of several companies where William served as co director alongside Tony Hughes of the High Street Group of companies. (You can read more about  Tony’s involvement with High Street Group in our four-part blog series due to be released soon,  suffice to say Tony was very involved with High Street Grp companies.) We’ll explore the other  Platinum companies later, but it’s important to note that Charis Capital Management Ltd (now in  liquidation) was a shareholder in Platinum One. Charis was involved in introducing High Street Loan  Note products and, through debt assignment of the Loan Notes from the Charis Loan Note Holders  to Insolvency & Law Ltd, Insolvency & Law, through its debt recovery service, played a key role in the  winding up of Castle Trust & Management Services Ltd. 

WJ Developments Ltd: Partnerships and Expansion 

Staying on the subject of High Street Grp, WJ Developments Ltd is described in a Northumberland  Living brochure as: “this business specialised in large extensions and refurbishment work, with the  company expanding rapidly due to word of mouth. In 2013, Bill went into partnership with large  North East based developers with an agreement to contract all development work to WJ Construction  up to the value of £10m, this gave him the opportunity to work on a number of projects including  historic and Listed buildings”.  

The “large North East-based developers” referred to is All Saints Developments NE Ltd, the  construction arm of Gary Forrest’s High Street-branded companies. In 2014, All Saints became a  shareholder of WJ Construction Ltd. WJ Developments Ltd shared the same registered address as  High Street Group, first at Cuthbert House and later at Stockbridge House. Is this where William and  Gary stood around the coffee machine and discussed Loan Notes and Castle Trust and Management  Services Ltd?  

There’s also an interesting link to our blog series on Gary Forrest: Stokoe Rodger LLP completed the  year-end accounts for WJ Developments Ltd in 2015. We’ve also covered Stokoe Rodger LLP in our  blogs on Gary Forrest, but again suffice to say Stokoe Rodger LLP have a history with High Street Grp  as well. It seems there’s a tight-knit circle of associates in the North East. 

Unravelling the Platinum Companies 

Let’s unravel the Platinum-branded companies. Platinum Assets and Developments Ltd had both  Jackson and Hughes as directors, though only Jackson remains now. In May 2020, The Northern Echo  reported that “Platinum Energy Solutions Limited – part of the Platinum Assets Group –

headquartered in Chester-le-Street, continues to work on the site at Southbrook Farm, South  Monmouthshire, during lockdown as it is deemed an essential asset by the Welsh Assembly.” 

……. Chairman of Platinum Assets, Tony Hughes, said interest in the project has peaked since the  Covid-19 lockdown began, as investors seek a stable and reliable energy option.……. And as well as  generating power for the community it could produce returns of up to 18 per cent for investors”.  

In the same article Peter Eagle, managing director with Platinum Energy Solutions Limited, said: “We  have full political backing with a 30-year operating agreement and a long-term buyer for the  electricity is signed up”. 

Platinum Energy Solutions Ltd (PES) is a subsidiary of Platinum Assets and Developments Ltd.  According to their brochures, they “identified the need for a greener future and purchased a Gas  Peaking Plant in Southbrook, Caldicot, South Wales.” The fact sheet states that the land was  purchased for £1.25 million and boasts returns of 18% for investors. 

The Role of Castle Trust and Management Services Ltd 

Castle Trust and Management Services Ltd provided trustee services for up to £75 million in Loan  Notes, placing a charge on Platinum Assets and Developments Ltd on 15th August 2019. We have  recently become aware of a breach in Castle Trust and Management Services Ltd regulatory  conditions for Gibraltar Financial Services at the time this charge was placed. This exposes all the  Loan Note Holders who took out Loan Notes during this time and raises further questions to the  Gibraltar Financial Services Commission. 

Furthermore, we possess a Platinum Energy Solutions Ltd Certificate for a Loan Note Holder, issued  on 12th February 2020, bearing the Castle Trust and Management Services Ltd common seal and  Steven Knight’s signature. The Deed of Accession refers to Castle Trust and Management Services  Ltd as the trustees and Platinum Energy Solutions Ltd as the company. However, there is no charge  on Platinum Energy Solutions Ltd by Castle Trust and Management Services Ltd on Companies  House, only a charge by Platinum Assets and Developments Ltd on the given date.  

Lastly, Southbrook Gas Generation Ltd owned the gas peaking plant in Southbrook. We’ll delve  further into this in a later section. 

Issues Facing Loan Note Holders 

We’ve been in contact with many dissatisfied clients holding Loan Notes with Platinum-branded  companies and Northumberland Living-branded companies. Platinum Energy Solutions Ltd was  recently wound up, and Platinum Assets and Developments Ltd has not filed accounts since April  2021. Southbrook Gas Generation Ltd is also behind on its accounts. Loan Note Holders have  reported late interest payments and redemption payment defaults. Nevertheless, William has  moved on to his Northumberland Living-branded companies, with a similar Loan Note arrangement,  which is also now behind on interest payments. 

Northumberland Living/Phoenix West Developments Ltd and West Chevington Farm: Genesis One  Ltd 

West Chevington Farm and Northumberland Living are trading styles for the Genesis companies,  which issued Loan Notes for the development of West Chevington Farm. Series 2 Loan Notes raised  up to £2.8 million for various phases of the development, with Castle Trust & Management Services  Ltd serving as security trustees for Northern Business Management LLP (which faced a winding-up  petition in July 2022) and Phoenix West Developments Ltd.

Currently, no replacement trustee is listed on Companies House records following the liquidation of  Castle Trust & Management Services Ltd. Receivers have been called in for several Genesis-branded  companies, including Genesis One (No 16) Ltd, Genesis One (No 12) Ltd, Genesis One (No 15) Ltd,  and Genesis One (No 13) Ltd. All of these companies have charges against respective properties at  the West Chevington Farm development. 

In a recent newsletter to a Loan Note Holder in June, Irene Mackenzie, Investor Relations of  Northumberland Living, admitted to cashflow difficulties in the project, delaying the May interest  payments. It seems history is repeating itself. 

Changing Trustees: Alpha Trustee Services Ltd 

Since the collapse of Castle Trust and Management Services Ltd, William is now using Alpha Trustee  Services Ltd in his new venture, WH2022 Ltd. However, there does not appear to be a new trustee  for the Loan Note Holders in the West Chevington Farm/Genesis development related companies. 

Let’s remind ourselves that Alpha Trustee Services Ltd has become popular among those who  previously used Castle Trust and Management Services Ltd. The directors of Alpha Trustees were  heavily involved with the High Street Group and continue to be, now providing trustee services to  Oakyard Loan Notes – Oakyard being the brand under Hadrian Real Estate PLC to develop some  historical High Street Group sites. (You can read more about Oakyard in our blog linked here).  William seems to keep a close circle of associates, much like Gary Forrest. 

Is the Future Solar? 

Finally, a word on solar farming. After partnering with Christopher Woods as a co-director in Verdant  Global Limited, Billy seems to be making a U-turn back into eco-friendly energy solutions. After being  refused planning permission for further buildings on land at West Chevington Farm – land meant to  remain grassland under previous planning permissions – Billy is now attempting to install a trendy  solar farm. Verdant appears to be involved, as email correspondence was included in planning  documents on the planning portal. 

The West Chevington Farm Action Group is certainly not pleased with how the grassland has been  managed, nor with the solar farm application on land that was supposed to remain grassland.  Fortunately, the application was refused, but not before some colourful objections were filed  detailing Billy’s breaches of planning conditions. 

Additionally, WH2022 Ltd is the company name for Aventurine Climate, which boasts investment  opportunities of up to a staggering 32% within the renewable energy sector. Loan Notes for  investments in this company total up to £8.5 million, with £5 million already raised (according to  broker Sovereign Resources). New Capital Link, another broker, states that “Between July 2022 to  December 2022, they have already begun securing prime locations to deploy utility-scale solar  photovoltaics and onshore wind power plants.” 

One of these sites is the former location of Southbrook Gas Generation Ltd, which sold the site to  WH2022 Ltd for £1.5 million in November 2022. We expect Southbrook Gas Generation Ltd’s  accounts to reflect this sale soon. It does seem peculiar that this asset has been transferred to  another of Jackson’s companies. This is definitely something worth investigating further, and we will  cover it in Part 3. 

Insolvency & Law strives to report the full facts on individuals and their companies. Often, potential  purchasers of Loan Notes and properties only see the headlines, but we dig deep into backgrounds and histories to provide comprehensive reports to ensure readers are fully informed and equipped  with facts to make decisions. If you would like us to research individuals and their companies, please  get in touch to investigations@insolvencyandlaw.co.uk