My companies goal is to create a straight forward, transparent,
\npersonally tailored to the client Wine Investment Brokerage. After
\nworking my way up to Senior broker at a previous company I saw a gap in
\nthe market. This gap in the market is a wine investment company that
\nsolely has the clients best interests as number one priority. This is
\nthe future of wine investment. <\/p>\nMy passion is inventing new, more
\n innovative ways for people that are new or familiar to the industry to
\nget the best understanding and profits from there investments, with a
\nbroker they can trust and rely on to have there (sic) best interest as
\nparamount.<\/p>\n
<\/span> <\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\nOpen letter to Mr Sultan Rashid, Director, Twelve By Seventy
\n Five Limited from BV:<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
<\/span><\/u><\/b>Without Prejudice, save as to costs<\/span><\/u><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nI set out below my family\u2019s experience of investing through Twelve By Seventy Five Limited (TBSF). All statements of fact can be evidenced. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nBackground<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nIn early 2014 my (now late) father held significant holdings of DRC and other well-known investment grade
\n wines.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nAt this time, he was contacted by Mr Riccardo De\u2019Nardis, a co-director, along with yourself, of newly
\n formed wine brokerage, Twelve By Seventy Five Limited (TBSF).\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nMr De\u2019Nardis had been involved in the sale of the DRC portfolio to my father (in his previous role at
\n Capital Vintners) and used this former contact to introduce my father to TBSF.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nDuring
\n the next three years my father was advised by, and traded through,
\nTBSF. This led to his existing
\n portfolio being systematically sold to TBSF and reinvested (primarily)
\nin variants of \u201cExcellence de Belliard\u201d wines, purchased from TBSF, at
\nan invoiced value amounting to some \u00a3390,000.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nThese wines have proved to be basically unsaleable:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \nNo other broker I have offered them to has been remotely interested in making any offer for them.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- \nOne broker informed me they were \u201cabout as illiquid as it is possible to be\u201d in terms of investment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
- \nTBSF has had two failed
\nattempts to sell small tranches of the portfolio, once before my
\nfather\u2019s death and once subsequent to it. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n- \nTBSF have not been able to recommend any other credible disposal route.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nThis
\n is despite my father being led to believe that the investments were to
\nbe short term in nature;
\n to quote a member of your staff, \u201cflipped\u201d for a quick profit.\u00a0 In
\nlight of these facts I can only conclude that TBSF either offered
\ncatastrophically bad (negligent) advice to my father, or deliberately
\nset out to defraud him. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nRecovery To date<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nSubsequent to my father\u2019s death in February 2017 I reconciled all the transactions he had made with TBSF
\n to both bank statements and to the wines present in his warehouse accounts.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nThis exercise identified a number of \u201cadministrative anomalies\u201d, which led (over time) to the recovery
\n of \u00a332,000 from TBSF.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nSubsequent
\n to this, TBSF agreed to help sell the portfolio off. \u00a0However, this did
\n not go well and in
\n Summer 2017 I finally lost patience with TBSF\u2019s increasingly
\nimplausible excuses for failing to sell a small tranche of the Belliard
\nportfolio. I therefore formally confronted Mr De\u2019Nardis with my
\nconclusion that the value of the wines had been significantly
\n misrepresented to my father by TBSF (either fraudulently or
\nnegligently).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nAfter
\n prolonged exchanges, during which Mr De\u2019Nardis left TBSF suddenly and
\nhanded over to you, we eventually
\n reached a \u201csettlement agreement\u201d during Summer 2017, involving the
\nreturn of the wines to TBSF for a payment of \u00a3275,000 spread over two
\nyears.\u00a0 However, you ultimately refused to sign it, claiming to have
\nproblems with your business and personal banking arrangements.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nSubsequent to this we have managed to agree two additional payments, against threats of a court process
\n being initiated, amounting to \u00a328,000.\u00a0 This leaves our outstanding claim at \u00a3330,000.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nCurrent Situation<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nTBSF\u2019s
\n accounts to January 2017 show that the two directors at that time, Mr
\nDe\u2019Nardis and yourself,
\n were able to take \u00a3657,000 in directors\u2019 loans from the business.\u00a0 The
\nbusiness does not have significant capital, nor any borrowings, so this
\nimplies some profitable and highly cash generative trading has taken
\nplace.\u00a0 No direct link to your dealings with
\n my father can be proved from the information available, but I set out
\nbelow an example of one en-primeur deal TBSF did with him, for which the
\n wines landed in his warehouse account in March this year:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n10 cases of L’EXCELLENCE DE BELLIARD PAUILLAC 2015 12X75CL (en primeur)\u00a0:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\nStated in-bond value\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a3 10,000<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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