The former rent-to-rent specialist who now runs a Whitegates lettings agency apparently still owes around £60,000.
Daniel Burton, who used to run Unida Place in London, was confronted by Channel 4 News.
As reported previously in Letting Agent Today, Burton is being allowed to stay on as the Scunthorpe franchisee of Whitegates, part of Legal & General.
A spokesperson for Legal & General told us: “We are happy with Daniel Burton’s conduct in relation to Whitegates, and we will continue to be monitoring the branch very closely to uphold the highest standards.”
Former Unida Place tenants Clint Kelly and Aisling Brennan were featured on Channel 4 News, claiming that they are owed around £3,200.
C4 News’ north of England correspondent Ciaran Jenkins confronted Burton, who said he still owed around £60,000.
Burton said he had “held my hands up” and that everyone would be paid back.
More here:
http://www.channel4.com/news/the-tycoon-landlord-and-his-tenants-missing-money?
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Comments
Interestingly, on behalf of someone who lost out, I did some checks.
Mr Burton has no active Directorships and as such, if he is principal of his Whitegates franchise, I wonder how it was set up.
On DueDil, his profile reads as follows - and this really hasn't been edited.
Mr Daniel George Burton was born in 1988 and the first directorship we have on file was in 2013 at Dirty Laundry (London) Limited. His most recent directorship was with Trade Buying Company Limited where he held the position of "Entrepreneur". This company has been around since 08 Aug 2007 . In total, Daniel has held 11 directorships, 6 of which are current, and 5 are previous.
Odd that on Scunthorpes homepage, he isn't listed as a member of staff and there is no reference to the legal entity of the business, so he is effectively untraceable there.
Another argument for some form of regulation if only in terms of a 'fit and proper' person.
Linked in profile avoids some employment history, however.........
Ambitious young business owner and property developer/investor.
Very keen to build relationships in the London property industry, particularly around high yield residential investment and management and developments.
Specialties:Property Sales, Property Lettings, Property Management, Buy to Let Investments, Student Rooms, Student Accommodation, High Yield Residential Property
Whitegates should be renamed 'Watergates'
I absolutely agree with Andrew McCausland.
What standard of vetting is this for a new franchisee?
It's not something hidden in his distant past, it's current headline news! Bad enough that he was granted a franchise, it's worse still that L&G try and defend their decision and then claim to demand the highest standards. If these are 'high standards' then what about the others?
Watch the clip fro 2minutes 50 seconds. Painful - why did he chose to engage?
This man choose to spend his ill gotten gains to buy into a Whitegates franchise rather than pay his creditors. He does not appear to have made much attempt to repay his debts until traced by the media and forced to make a statement.
Do L&G really think their comments about "highest standards" will wash with the general public, never mind those of us in the industry? If I were a landlord in Scunthorpe I would be looking for another company with "higher standards" to look after my investments.
Remember corporate governance, reputation management and all the other current buzz phrases following the collapse of confidence in the financial sector?
Come on L&G - get a grip.