New Twist in the Bid to Clean Up a Former Nursing Home Site...

The former Admiral Court Nursing Home in Greenland Road, (Pic Source, Durham & teesside Today)

Fresh twist in a local councils bid to bring an absent developer to book, after a HBC Exposed investigation finds the business served the notice is the subject of a long & complex fraud investigation & may not now even exist...

17th Feb 2025

Efforts to force an absent developer into action to clean up a vandal-stricken site have hit a major stumbling block, after a HBC Exposed investigation reveals the limited company served with an enforcement notice by Hartlepool Borough Council (HBC), giving it just four months to clean up the site, effectively 'no longer exists', following a lengthy legal battle by the Financial Conduct Authority to claw back millions of pounds worth of money lost by investors in a highly sophisticated scam.

The company which owned the former care home & is now said to be the subject of a major FCA investigation

HBC Exposed has discovered that OAKESWAY LTD, the company that reportedly owns the former Admiral Court Nursing Home on Greenland Road, was set to be struck off the companies house register some time ago as part of a criminal investigation against two of its directors, Robin Forster and Richard Tasker.

Just who now owns the site ?....... No One really knows !

According to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Robin Forster and Richard Tasker. were linked to a sophisticated care home investment scam which led to multiple investors losing at least £30 million pounds, indicating Hartlepool Borough Council could be set for a lengthy legal battle to determine just who now owns the heavily vandalised building, the court, the Crown, or no-body ?

The Financial Conduct Authority Investigation

In May 2023, the FCA issued a statement regarding its legal claim against Robin Forster concerning the Qualia investment schemes. Its claimed A High Court trial took place between May 2 and May 15, 2023, with a judgement then set to have been given a short time later. If successful, the FCA claimed they intended to seek a Restitution Order, requiring the defendants to compensate defrauded investors to the tune of millions of pounds, more than likely resulting in the seizure & selling of assets such as the former Admiral Court Nursing Home in Hartlepool.

The FCA also reportedly launched another claim against Forster and several other companies for earlier so called 'investment schemes' involving care homes, they included Downshaw Lodge, Oakesway, Ferndale, Birchley Hall, Sandycroft, and Gilwood Lodge. These claims were said to have been 'stayed' pending the outcome of the May 2023 trial.

The proceedings reportedly alleged that the defendants engaged in unauthorised activity relating to collective investment schemes, with the FCA seeking injunctions and restitution for affected investors.

Forster, one of the company directors had already been given court undertakings that resulted in a worldwide freeze on all his assets. The unauthorised schemes were operated by his companies, Qualia Care Developments Limited (QCD) and Qualia Care Properties Limited (QCP), both of which were immediately placed into administration by the High Court. Fortem Global Limited (FGL), the main promoter of these schemes, also lacked regulatory approval for its promotional materials & was said to have met a similar fate & placed into immediate liquidation.

The Collapse of a Ponzi-Style Scheme

Prior to their collapse, Qualia Care Developments Limited (QCD) and Qualia Care Properties Limited (QCP) owned 13 care homes across the North East of England, selling investment opportunities in rooms within these homes. Investors were said to have been promised financial returns of around 8-10% annually, but the FCA alleges these figures were entirely unrealistic, with the financial model resembling a Ponzi style scheme, with returns likely being funded by money from later investors rather than legitimate profits.

Shortly before the High Court placed both businesses into administration, its claimed Oakesway Ltd's director Robin Forster allegedly transferred £1.8 million—almost all the firms remaining funds—into a newly created bank account under the name Qualia Care Holdings Limited (QCH), leaving the original ltd companies financially crippled.

The Fallout for Hartlepool Borough Council

Hartlepool Borough Council now faces the task of finding out just who now owns the Admiral Court site, which has been left in considerable disrepair for nearly a decade.

As a result of the High Court ruling, the ownership of the former Admiral Court site in Hartlepool still to this day remains in limbo, as HBC Exposed understands the business underpinning the site had any remaining assets frozen, with the ltd company set to be dissolved by High Court order following the scandal. Many fear the action by Hartlepool Borough council is merely a repeat of the action which was brought some four years ago when the site became a magnet for fly tipping, with critics claiming that serving enforcement notice on a 'dissolved company' merely amounts to legal posturing, with some claiming that a simple Companies House check would have confirmed within minutes that the business Oakesway Ltd is effectively 'defunct'. This has led to speculation that the council may now be forced into a costly legal standoff in the bid to obtain a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on the site, or even pursuing a much more extreme option of 'Adverse Possession' to take control of the site on public safety grounds, all of which is likely to cost local tax payers tens of thousands of pounds in the process & brings back painful memories of the Longscar buildings CPO fiasco which marked an embarrassing period for HBC's legal team .

Calls for Tougher Action on Absent Developers

There's has however been growing calls for Hartlepool Borough Council to adopt a much firmer stance against absentee developers, particularly those responsible for derelict and dangerous sites. However, the council's latest move has been met with some considerable criticism, with some suggesting the latest move against the Admiral Court developers is more about optics, rather than results.

The High Court Ruling Against Forster

In an update from the FCA, HBC Exposed learned that following the May 2023 FCA hearing, the High Court ruled in favour of the FCA against Robin Forster, the director of Oakesway Ltd, finding that he'd taken £57 million from 380 investors in his illegal care home investment scheme. The court agreed that the scheme was unlawful, with Forster promising returns that were never realistically achievable.

Following that ruling Steve Smart, Joint Executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight at the FCA, commented saying :

"Mr. Forster didn’t just put investors’ funds at risk by selling investments in an unauthorised scheme that was not sustainable, he also put at risk the well-being of residents of the care homes, many of whom were vulnerable. The scheme offered unrealistic returns based on its unsustainable business model and operated like a Ponzi scheme. Mr. Forster’s reckless behaviour put investors at serious risk, and we will now seek compensation for them."

The FCA’s action also extends to Fortem Global Limited, another business owned by Forster and Richard Tasker, which served as the main sales agent for the scheme.

So What Next then for Admiral Court?

Many think it will be another decade before the site will ever be dealt with, leading to more misery for locals

Truth is, no one really knows !.

With the long running legal battle over Forster’s fraudulent schemes seemingly continuing and a bid to claw back the millions of pounds investors seemingly lost through the sophisticated scam, Hartlepool Borough Council now faces a significant challenge in determining who, if anyone, is now responsible for the former Admiral Court site and Just who's going to foot the bill for the site’s clean-up and redevelopment?

Should Hartlepool Borough Council simply 'step in' & take possession of the former Admiral Court land ?

• YES
• NO