Overseas property agent declared bankrupt

Andrew Nolan, the director of estate agent Peter Stephenson Properties, who specialized in selling “half price villas” in Cyprus to British buyers has been declared bankrupt at Birmingham crown court.

Nolan sold around 60 “half price villas” to British buyers in 2007 which were to be built by British property developer Ian Beaumont. Although more than £3 million passed through Nolan’s bank account, the villas were never built and investors did not receive refunds on their deposits and stage payments.

A consortium of investors won a case in the small claims court against Nolan last year but he failed to pay the damages awarded so was issued with bankruptcy proceedings in September. He was officially declared bankrupt on Thursday last week, although he failed to show at the hearing.

As well as the extreme stress caused to the “buyers” of his properties, Nolan has inflicted damage to the reputation of the overseas property industry, particularly as the case became the subject of an episode of ‘Holiday Homes from Hell’ on UK network TV station ITV.

Incredibly, Andrew Nolan is a twice banned company director and is still serving a maximum 15-year ban over the £2.3m collapse of his insurance company 0700 2 Insure Ltd after accountants found a £722,000 black hole in the firm’s books.

A civil case is also being brought against the British bank into which Nolan paid the victim’s money. Although the bank was notified in writing about the scam, it failed to take any action. The victims’ legal team claims the bank was negligent as it failed to report the scam as required by the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The search continues for property developer Ian Beaumont. He was last known to be living in Dubai using the names Richard Katz and Ian Morgan.

Further coverage on Cyprus Property Magazine