A company that operated an estate agency business has been ordered into liquidation on the grounds of protecting the public interest. A sum of half a million pounds remains unaccounted for.

Matrix Company 1 ran Crown Property Professionals from 151 Rushey Green, Catford, south London, and had been under investigation by the Insolvency Service.

The company advertised properties on third-party property search websites and on two websites operated by or connected with the company.

One is named in the Government press release as www.crownpc.co.uk and the other as www.propertypropertyproperty.co.uk

The High Court heard that the investigation was met with deliberate confusion and obstruction to prevent its business and affairs being fully investigated and that despite the obstruction, accounts were identified which had received over half a million pounds all of which remains unaccounted for.

According to the sole registered director of the company at the time of the investigation, a Ms Kimberley Grice (who the investigators were not able to meet and who an employee of the company stated she had never heard of) had decided to sell the company’s business to one of its employees, a Mr Shakiru Knight (a former employee of Credence), who was going to trade as a sole trader.

The investigation found that the company was a continuation of the business previously carried on from the same address in Catford by Piper London (trading as ‘Credence’), one of 14 connected companies which were all wound up in the public interest on June 4, 2014.

The companies were linked in that they were found to be vehicles for the business interests of Mr Charles Gordon, an undischarged bankrupt.

Welcoming the Court’s winding up decision, Chris Mayhew, company investigations supervisor, said: “This formally brings to an end a disreputable estate agency business carried on by this company which failed to co-operate with the investigation and deliberately sought to mislead the investigation as to who managed and controlled its affairs.

“The Insolvency Service works closely with other regulators to protect the interests of the public against unscrupulous companies and I would like to thank Lewisham Trading Standards for their assistance in bringing this company’s affairs to an end.”

The Insolvency Service said that the company had engaged in unfair trading practices and complaints had been made to Lewisham Trading Standards.

These included: allegations of taking deposits and attempting to retain administration fees in circumstances where the property had been let to someone else or the transaction did not proceed; giving false information as to why properties were available as to price, availability and/or condition of properties; taking an unreasonable length of time to refund deposits; advertising properties for sale when not a member of an estate agent redress scheme as required by law and making false claims of membership in this regard.

Matrix Company 1 was incorporated on October 26, 2012. No accounts have been filed.

The petition to wind up the company was presented in the High Court on November 26 last year.

Charles Gordon was adjudged bankrupt in July 2003. According to the Insolvency Service, his failure to co-operate with the Official Receiver and Trustee in Bankruptcy means that his automatic discharge from bankruptcy has been suspended.

Charles Gordon is known to have used various aliases, including Charles Roberts, and has been associated with the Catford address for over ten years.

The grounds to wind up the company were its lack of transparency; failure to co-operate with the investigation; lack of commercial probity; failure to maintain, preserve and/or make available to the investigation accounting records; and failure to file accounts.

In ordering the company into liquidation, Mr Registrar Jones gave a detailed and damning judgement in which he said: “The concerns of the Secretary of State are wholly justified. It seems to me that the conclusion to be drawn is that the company is indeed a company controlled by Mr Charles Gordon.”

* Eye contacted the portal www.propertypropertyproperty.co.uk yesterday afternoon and spoke to two people, neither of whom was able to shed any light on any possible connection with the case and who stressed that the business remains up and running.

The press release issued by the Insolvency Service is here