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Exclusive: Troubled property management company seeks voluntary liquidation

Exclusive: Troubled property management company seeks voluntary liquidation

The Beagle has learned that Devon Block Management has instructed insolvency practitioners Marshall Peters to organise a Company Voluntary Liquidation (CVL) of the company.

But it’s far from straightforward - the move is already being challenged by people owed significant sums of money by DBM.

A Beagle investigation, which began in April 2025, found that DBM was under police investigation for alleged fraud involving taxpayer-funded cladding safety work. A file has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service.

We have heard from residents in more than a dozen DBM-managed buildings who are struggling to access their own money paid into reserve funds for maintenance. We’ve also heard from businesses that allege they’re owed money for maintenance work. The sums involved total more than £600,000.

Residents living in The Azure apartments on The Hoe are among the worst affected. And this news has not gone down well, with residents fearing their money is lost - and blaming their elected board for letting them down.

"We blame the board. Our money's gone. They utterly failed us - it's been terrible leadership and we feel completely let down. We've all had enough of the incompetence and they should all step down," one resident blasted.

Companies House lists two active directors of Devon Block Management: Sean Francis Nicholson and Elaine Nicholson. The accounts of DBM are listed as being overdue.

In a letter today to The Azure from current management company, Atwell Martin, Andrew Bullivant said: “Within the documentation, Azure Plymouth Limited were not stated as a Creditor of Devon Block Management. We have contacted Marshall Peters and made representation that this is clearly an omission or oversight.

“We believe that the monies owing to Azure Plymouth Limited are in the region of £450,000.

“As you can imagine, there are a large number of blocks who (sic) have been affected by the actions of Devon Block Management, and the consensus is that in their statement of truth, they have significantly underplayed the financial loss for all and simply disregarded others. 

“The universal approach taken by Creditors is to oppose the CVL process and similarly the appointment of Marshall Peters.”

The Beagle has repeatedly offered DBM, which is based at Behan House in Stonehouse Street, the chance to comment. It has ignored our calls and emails.

How the Beagle broke the news about Devon Block Management concerns

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