Hundreds of luxury London properties to be sold after shadow bank’s collapse

Hundreds of high-end London properties tied to a collapsed £2bn British shadow bank are to go on sale after being seized by administrators.FRP Advisory has been drafted in to sell more than 250 property companies controlled by individuals with links to Market Financial Solutions (MFS), with the hope of raising funds to repay some of the company’s creditors.Many of these companies are ownership vehicles for luxury flats across London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods, including Mayfair, Belgravia, Kensington, Knightsbridge, Fitzrovia, Marylebone and Nine Elms.They range from stuccoed residences in upmarket addresses such as Berkeley Street, Grosvenor Square and Portland Place, to upscale flats in modern developments.Ownership of the residences is tied to 134 Buckingham Palace Road, according to Companies House filings, which was MFS’s address before it fell into administration last month.Three individuals – Khemanand Hurhangee, Dipeshkumar Patel and Dipendra Amin – are among those listed as directors of the properties in question, which are owned by companies that borrowed from MFS.Creditors have alleged in court documents that those individuals are connected to Paresh Raja, the co-founder of MFS.In particular, Mr Amin and Mr Hurhangee are tied to the firm that MFS named as one of its main accountants, Magus Chartered Accountancy. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Magus, MFS or the named individuals.A spokesman for FRP Advisory confirmed that administrators have been appointed to oversee around 250 companies tied to MFS.They said: “The joint administrators are reviewing the assets within the portfolio and will be working closely with the wider creditor group and administrators of other parts of the MFS group to recover the maximum possible value for creditors.”A spokesman for Mr Raja said: “This has nothing to do with Mr Raja.“He is not involved in this but is pleased it is happening. These companies hold assets for the benefit of the lenders and investors. Mr Raja wishes to see the best administrators get the best return to lenders and creditors.”Creditors will be hoping that the sale of the properties will help plug a £1.3bn black hole left behind by MFS.It is the latest development concerning MFS, which collapsed into administration last month amid what a judge called “very serious” allegations of fraud at the business. The company is accused of double pledging assets to secure loans.MFS was among a rapidly growing group of “bridging lenders” in the UK, which offer short-term, property-backed loans to borrowers who may not qualify for conventional bank financing.The lender itself borrowed more than £2bn from major financial institutions to support its growth, including Barclays, Wells Fargo, Jefferies and Santander. Its clients included property investors, overseas family offices and sports stars.One of its major clients was Bangladeshi politician Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, who had his properties frozen by the UK’s National Crime Agency last June. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection to MFS.Magus has been contacted for comment.