DaveG

Allan - I'm not sure how interested BWML would be . As Bob18 says, you could never describe Barby as a going concern and, with the best will in the world, there is still massive investment required to make it properly useable. I doubt they are even a third of the way through. There is no connection to the National Grid, which runs about a mile away, but the owner is avoiding this question by saying he is now going to build a wind farm and a solar farm to make the site self sufficient. Apart from the fact there is no permission for this, the cost would be considerable. The current "hardware" construction cost of turbines works out around £3,000 per kilowatt (source Windindustry). Assuming 108 boats, shops, bar/restaurant plus other electrically driven equipment, a conservative estimate would be a required generating capacity of 350kw, or just over £1,000,000 in set-up and installation cost. Add to that the construction still required for all the advertised buildings and facilities, I would guess at least another £200,000 of expenditure is required there too. Just to equip a restaurant with conforming equipment and facilities is around £50,000 on top of the bricks and mortar construction cost. This is where you begin to understand the mindset of the owner who, having completely stalled on the construction and clearly in financial hardship, is now telling potential clients he is building a wind farm and everything else will be up and running before Christmas!! Cruel as it may sound, this is all total nonsense and fairy tale. Whilst it would be great if another buyer could be found, I'm not sure Barby is in a fit enough state to be commercially attractive. I think BW are more drawn to up-and-running businesses. You really have to see the place to understand the enormous amount of work still to be done. Let's not forget that this is area is already intensely served by marinas - I think there are already 11 or 12 within 10 miles. Of course, any incoming buyer is under no obligation to take on existing moorers or honour the deposits they have already paid.

A County Court judgement in itself will not grant you the status of a secured creditor. If you win a County Court judgement against someone and they fail to pay up you have to then take out a "Charging Order" which gives you a charge or lien over the debtors property. However, these orders are much harder and more costly to get than a basic CCJ. Barby Moorings Ltd's accounts would indicate there were already debts of quarter of a million 15 months ago. There have been two subsequent mortgages taken by RBS in June this year so it is probably safe to assume the debt has increased but, given that cheques are now bouncing and McMaster is, at the same time, stalling payment to other creditors, it is probably the case that they are also failing or, at best, struggling to service the debt let alone meet their other creditors. After VAT and Income tax, the bank would be the first creditor in the queue and obviously have the advantage of having first charge over any assets. Other than the land and the hole that has been dug in it, the only assets appear to be an ageing JCB and dumper, a rather dilapidated portakabin, and probably some sundry hand tools. As first creditor the bank need only sell the assets for what it is owed, and don't forget they will also be now piling charges and fees on top of the debt, especially if Barby is put into liquidation. The other difficulty, of course, would be finding a buyer in the current economic climate who could themselves raise finance. The other issue is that they do not have permission for residential moorings yet most of the handful of people there seem to be liveaboards. The planning permission from the council is that an owner can stay on their boat for a maximum of three days. McMaster is telling folk that this means you simply have to get off your boat onto the pontoon, turn round, and then get back on again. This is obviously cobblers and unfortunately all these other shenanigans risk attracting attention from the local authority. If the owner had taken a more reasonable attitude with customers this would probably not have escalated but his bullying and dishonesty have left a lot of anger amongst those affected. These factors apart, the other sad aspect is that if the company does go bust and nobody buys it we will be left with something of an eyesore until it reverts to nature.

Unlike one of the advertisers I contacted this week who state they have a contractual obligation to publish details of the marina facilities even though the advert is deliberately false. So, once again the law seems to fall on the side of the dishonest.

More than that, he actually put his prices UP in June. They smile in your face.......

There actually seems have been two companies running - Harral Brokerage Services Ltd (partners Anthony Stephen and Catherine Harral) established in 1996 and registered in Blackpool, dissolved 16/8/2011; and Harral Brokerage Services (Nantwich) Ltd , (partners Anthony Stephen Harral and Michael Edward Cope) established 2003 and registered at Wincham Wharf. Dissolved the same day as HBSL Ltd. Cope didn't become a partner until 2006, is the sole owner of Swanley Marina and also a partner in a Welsh property management company, as well as owning a substantial dairy farm. This, I guess, is where it gets a little confusing - were boats for sale at at Wincham Wharf being sold through HBSL Ltd, or HBSL (Nantwich) Ltd...or a combination of the two? If you look at HBSL Ltd's published accounts, they seem to have been in trouble since 2009 when current liabilities became double the value of current assets. The company seems to have been in steady decline since 2005. Whatever, this can't have come as a surprise to Harral. What I don't understand is, whilst there is much debate about Mr Harrals probity as a company director (Eurocraft Marine Ltd, First Cheshire Boatbuilders Ltd, and Northwest Marine Factors (Norwester) Ltd are also past failures as well as the two failed Harral brokerages) nothing is being said about Mr Cope . He does appear to be operating a brokerage as part of his marina operation but they do state that "Swanley Bridge Marina are members of the British Marine Federation and we abide by their requirements to hold funds received from purchasers in a separate clients account for your financial protection." Whilst he may be 100% honest, he was a business partner of Harral's until August this year. Perhaps, Athy, you can maybe understand people's frustration when large sums of money have been lost by individuals whilst those who were trusted to hold it are still trading. There have been four threads on here lately about dodgy business shenanigans by brokers, builders and marinas so why is it unreasonable to expect better standards from business?

Why do you call it "Harral-bashing"? This is not a witch hunt but exasperation against a man who has liquidated a company owing people substantial sums of money seemingly at no detriment to himself - these are not piddling little rip-offs, they are decent peoples' investments. The best crooks and con-men are always the most plausible - he's hardly likely to tell a magazine he couldn't give a damn and has no intention of paying anyone back, and I don't suppose it says in the interview that he already has five failed companies behind him. Remember, first and foremost he is a salesman, and the key to success is, above all, the ability to sell one's self. The boating press is like any other sales-based media and will continue to claim everything in the garden is rosy because that's how they generate advertising revenue.

Great - hopefully with the three months advance he takes from them he will have no excuse not to refund what he owes me.

Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Moore case the result of a property dispute between him and a company called Geronimo Ltd who also claim to own the land the boats are moored to ? This doesn't appear to be someone who is a CCer but someone who owns 6 boats, 5 of which he rents out as a commercial investment, all moored on the same stretch of canal but for which he claims it is his "common law right" not to pay any mooring fee. Very different to Davis, I think........but rather in line with Mr Shapps new vision of the canals!

Okay, happy to accept this is more normal than I would have hitherto thought. However, "acting oddly" is, I feel, a little generous given that they are taking out big advertisements in the press complete with false statements as to facilities and what seem to now be faked-up photos. Anyone who arrives and complains is ordered to leave and then has to fight for their "non-refundable" deposit. I'm afraid I can't describe this as "odd", it's outright dishonest. Let's not forget, this marina was originally supposed to open in July 2010.

I have received a letter from Trading Standards this morning which states they are "monitoring the activities of this business". They also ask that anyone who has any complaint, information or experience of Barby Moorings/Barby Marina to ring Consumer Direct (which is the government sponsored Trading Standards organisation) on : 08454 040506. The reference for this case is NW4359282.

The link doesn't take you to the actual page for Barby Moorings for some reason. This one may work, though: My link then click on the link on the page. I saw this a while back and it doesn't make good reading. The only "asset" appears to be the land against which there were £231,620 of current liabilities. There was £4868 in the bank. However, these figures are well over a year old and there have since been two further charges taken over the land, presumably by RBS who, judging from I love my narrowboat's bounced cheque, have now pulled the plug. One can only assume that the rest of us who are still waiting for money from these people will meet the same fate. It would also explain why there isn't a single contractor working on the site. Whilst it may be "normal" for businesses to register in this way it doesn't necessarily mean it is ethical. There are all sorts of ways debtors can avoid paying what they owe - the Harral business is a good example. My brother in law had an electrician business subcontracted to a major volume housebuilder. The builder (Thor) went under owing him nearly £30,000 but was up and running again within three days, the directors still living in their smart houses, whereas my brother in law didn't get a cent, went out of business and lost his home.

Business started 13th July 2008, registered office at an address in Bedford which also houses at least two firms of accountants (Thompsons & Co and Novakovic & Co) and over 20 other companies. Moved on 1st July his year to Nuneaton.

Plus another firm of accountants, Knight Arnold Wall, and as Carlt points out, at least another 20 businesses. Not bad for a smallish end-of-terrace property. Out of interest, if one building can be the registered office of multiple businesses, do they all have to pay business rate on the property?

Yes, you're right - I hadn't spotted that. It does seem to be a trend, though, to have your registered office at an address which is not your place of business nor any place you would associate with it. As was discussed in another recent thread, the law does seem heavily weighted in favour of those who owe rather than those who are owed. It does rather look like those of us who are trying to get our money back from these people won't see a penny but, no doubt, some "new" company will spring up in its place.

As long as the boating press continue to accept advertising from this company then these frauds will continue. I have written to three such publications all of whom seem disinterested - I guess as long as they are getting their fee they are not bothered. Up until this year Barby Moorings were registered (along with a number of other companies) at an accountant's accommodation address in Bedford. They are now registered at a similar type of address in Nuneaton although the postcode quoted is for a different address in the centre of Coventry. From the information I have been able to dig up from publicly available sources and other boaters I know plus the other tales of woe on here it would appear Barby are probably trading whilst insolvent. From the Northampton Chronicle 30th June 2011: A NEW £1 million village marina opens next month, creating several jobs for the area. Barby Moorings, which offers 108 berths, has been funded by a combination of family investment and money from the Royal Bank of Scotland. The marina, situated in Barby Lane in the village, has taken two years to build and will create 14 seasonal jobs. The project was the brainchild of Tony McMaster and Penny Leede who intend to make Barby Moorings a major tourist attraction for canal users and day-trippers. Mr McMaster said: “We’re very excited about the way Barby Moorings has developed from an arable field into this amazing marina. We have a real passion about narrowboats and the environment and wanted to create something that would definitely benefit both.” According to Companies House, Ms Leede is not a partner in the business. "This amazing marina".....not according to any dictionary I own!

Personally, I prefer CRUST, making all boaters Crusties or Crusters.

No worries - it's my own ignorance of cars I'm chuckling about!

I didn't say I had 20/20 vision.

Full page ad in Towpath Talk this month listing whole pile of facilities as up and running.

Possibly......4x4s all look a bit the same to me, I'm afraid. This was a couple of years ago.

Brilliant!!! Can't stop chuckling!!! On a par with comedian Michael Redmond....'A lot of people say to me, "Hey you.................what are you doing in my garden".

Is it worth mentioning that Michael Cope, the director of Swanley Marina, is also registered as the co-director of the failed Harrals business. What's his role in the debacle? Whilst they are based at Tattenhall, Ash Boats seem to be registered, along with a whole host of other "businesses" at an accommodation address in St John St, London. One also has to question the judgement and ethics of Tattenhall Marina given that Harral has five other dissolved businesses behind him. Does he still drive the personal-plated Range Rover Sport?

"Ash Boats Ltd, based in Cheshire, are the premier narrow boat brokerage company in the North of England". Please can someone explain "premier"??