Victims of Sarnia collapse repaid

Tuesday 16 April 2019

People left in the lurch by the sudden closure and liquidation of Sarnia Estate Agents last year have been reimbursed by the company’s liquidators, it has been confirmed to Express.

Approved claimants started to get their outstanding money back at the start of November, after Grant Thornton was able to put aside a designated fund to pay them.

A spokesman for the liquidators said they were not able to confirm, at this time, the total sum repaid and whether there were any other creditors whose claims could not be met.

The situation first came about last July after Sarnia disappeared from its High Street premises, and its Facebook page was taken down shortly after a client went public about being unable to contact them on the eve of moving into a rental property.

That client, Lottie Barnes, was the first of a number of islanders who had found themselves out of pocket because of Sarnia, and also struggling to find out what was going on. Ms Barnes was left with nowhere to go on her moving day, after she had been unable to get in touch with the estate agents. Her £2,000 initial payment had disappeared and was not in the hands of her potential landlord-to-be.

Speaking to Express last week, she remembered only hearing rumours about what might have happened to her estate agents and her money, and never being able to find anything concrete out.

“I have got my money back now, I received a payment in the middle of December,” she said, “at the time, I only found out what was going on because someone I knew pointed me to something in the news.”

Ms Barnes had received her payment more toward the end of last year because her case was unique, with an actual transaction never having taken place. She said she was incredibly thankful to have got her money back – it was an amount she couldn’t afford to lose.

“There was so many rumours going around at the time, one of the things that was quite odd was that originally we were told there was no money for us to get paid with, then suddenly there was a change in circumstances, and we were told we would be reimbursed.”

As was evident at the time of Sarnia’s disappearance, Ms Barnes was not the only person affected.

Other estate agents commented on the Sarnia situation at the time of its disappearance, offering help or advice to worried tenants and landlords.

The closure and lack of information provided by Sarnia Estates led to more than 40 people making complaints to the Guernsey Police Financial Crime Team.

It was found that no criminal investigation was needed, but Grant Thornton was quickly appointed Liquidators for the Estate Agents, with Director Jamie Toynton announcing on 19 September that, based on estimates at the time, there was enough money in the company to repay deposits and rent advances.

“These funds are specifically held for the repayment of deposits not yet paid over by Sarnia to landlords under the terms of managed property agreements, or for the few individuals who so unfortunately had paid over funds for deposit and advance rent at the time of the liquidation but their tenancy was not subsequently agreed,” Mr Toynton said at the time.

What happened to Sarnia Estates?

Even today, it is not entirely clear what happened to Sarnia Estate Agents. The firm was listed for ‘strike off’ by the Guernsey Registry at the end of August because it hadn’t paid a £250 registration fee, alongside a number of other businesses.

All of these businesses were linked to the same man, Quinten Hubbard. Any representative of Sarnia Estate Agents have yet to respond to questions asked by Express.
The firm's former Director Alex Ford, said he had resigned before the estate agency collapsed, and could not comment further.

Pictured top: Sarnia Estates with Lottie Barnes, inset.