Administrators called in after police raid Southport asset firm

Plus: Sefton Council's failed search for £131k exec and Andrew Brown's What's On guide

Hello and welcome to the 32nd edition of The Southport Lead.

Today’s edition focuses on the Seventy Ninth Group, a family-run business based in Southport which was enjoying rapid, international growth with deals worth hundreds of millions of pounds. Things have gone very wrong though, with anti-fraud policing raiding the business earlier this year and making multiple arrests. Read on for the latest development in the situation.

Also in today’s edition, Sefton Council’s stalled search for new senior management and Andrew Brown’s What’s On guide to the week ahead.

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As police investigate, administrators called in at Seventy Ninth Group

By Jamie Lopez

A Southport firm which was raided by anti-fraud police in February has been placed into administration.

The City of London Police announced earlier this year it had launched an investigation into the Seventy Ninth Group over “suspected widespread fraud”. Four arrests were made at the time and in April, the force confirmed to The Southport Lead that “those arrested remain on bail and enquiries are ongoing”

Appealing for people to come forward, the police said they believed to be offering loan notes to investors with a high interest return over a fixed period. They added that a large amount of cash, luxury watches and jewellery were found and seized during searches of properties.

The group describes itself as “a family owned asset management company, specialising in identifying and purchasing distressed assets in gold mining and property development” and is involved with business in locations including the UK, Canada and the Middle East. Its website, which is no longer live, stated it “holds a unique and advantageous position across the Real Estate, Natural Resources and Aviation sectors”.

“Specialising in the acquisition, management, and development of high-value assets, we leverage economic uncertainty to identify exceptional investment opportunities,” it explained. Having grown rapidly from a base at Southport Business Park, it had been an active part of the community including being headline sponsor at last year’s Southport Flower Show.

After the arrests were made, it categorically denied any wrongdoing and said it had instructed independent forensic investigators to review the business. In a statement, it added it “remains committed to servicing its clients in the UK and across the globe”.

Three weeks ago, it was reported that the company issued a notice explaining it had stopped taking any new funds via loan note offerings and had asked for a moratorium on payments to clients.

It also warned of job cuts and added: “The aim of this moratorium is to establish an effective plan to develop, with our strategic partners, all of the ongoing and future projects we have in the asset portfolio.

“It is our strong intention to complete these projects, we have instructed leading experts in all jurisdictions, to assist with the restructure plan.”

Now, administrators have been called in at eight companies connected to the overall business according to notices filed with The Gazette. These are:

• The 79th Grp Ltd

• Seventy Ninth UK Ltd

• Seventy Ninth Aviation Ltd

• 79th Luxury Living Ltd

• 79th Luxury Living One Ltd

• 79th Luxury Living Six Ltd

• 79th Leisure Two Development Ltd

• 79th Leisure Two Management Ltd

Most of those administrations are being handled by Quantumo, an independent advisory firm which describes itself as having “deep experience and specialist expertise in restructuring and insolvency, corporate finance, forensic accounting and investigations, cross-border asset recovery and creditor services”.

Quantimo did not wish to comment on the matter. Emails could not be delivered to the Seventy Ninth Group.

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Search for new £131k Council executive hits dead end

Sefton Council’s search for a key executive role has been extended due to no suitable candidates being found.

A meeting of the authority’s Employment Procedure Committee was held in Bootle and was given an update on the search for a new Executive Director Corporate Services and Commercial. The role comes with a £131k salary and responsibility for managing HR and workforce, digital, legal services, procurement and audit, as well as finance.

The job listing states that the postholder will be given a “wide span of control and influence across the authority” and that candidates will need “experience of managing significant budgets in a local authority setting and offering strategic advice to officers and members, as well as a commercial mindset and the skills and understanding to effectively support all service areas including adults and children’s services”.

However, the committee heard that technical interviews have been held and it was not felt that any candidate was suitable to progress further. An interim officer is to be put in place from May 15, with the recruitment process delayed to see if any new candidates become available.

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News in headlines

Brewery helps turn heartbreak to hope for charity born out of Southport tragedy (LancsLive)

CBeebies favourite Justin Fletcher confirmed for Southport Flower Show 2025 (Liverpool World)

Deadline for survey into future of tourism around Southport extended (Stand Up For Southport)

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What’s on this week

By Andrew Brown

Memories of a musician who saw The Beatles; comedian Dennis Conroy; and the return of the B Beside The Seaside B movie festival are among events heading to town over the next few days.