Tag: Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP

Grab The Money And Run!

On By JacIn Corruption Bay, Public Funding, Welsh Business Community33 Comments

In this piece I’m going to look at the collapse of Consumer Energy Solutions (CES) earlier this month, ask what could have gone wrong, and consider what the future might hold.

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BACKGROUND

There is a group of companies in south Wales involved in ‘retrofitting’ homes with cavity wall insulation, solar panels, loft insulation, heat pumps, etc., capitalising on the UK government’s ECO4 and related schemes.

They’ve experienced rapid growth in recent years. Most seem to be still in business, but the largest among them, in terms of turnover and profit, is in administration.

These companies are all owned by Dragon 2023 Topco Ltd, which is in turn owned by Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP, part of the Cairngorm Capital group of Edinburgh.

I’ve written about these companies a couple of times. Most recently with, ‘Corruption Bay’ Living Up To Its Name? just last month. I urge you to read it so you understand better the background. Also, the histories of some of the principals involved.

It’s quite fascinating.

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CONSUMER ENERGY SOLUTIONS

Something I remarked on last month was the huge increase in turnover and profits being reported by CES in its returns to Companies House. Here’s a clip from the most recent accounts (to 31.01.2024) which will explain what I’m talking about.

By any criteria, in any sphere of business, these figures are remarkable. So where did all the money go? And why is CES in administration?

Go to the accounts and scroll down to Note 25, where you’ll see under ‘Related party transactions’ that £74,326,749 came as revenue from City Energy Network. You’ll also see mention of the companies we’ll be looking at in a minute.

The directors who must claim credit for these profits have all now left the company.

The three I wish to focus on are: Ahmud Saleem Furreed, Lewis Edward John, and Stephen Mark Williams. All joined CES 19.01.2016, when the company was formed. They left either in June or September last year.

What are these talents of the retrofitting business up to now?

Before proceeding, it might be worth throwing out there that Furreed is a Labour party donor. I can’t speak for the political affiliations of the other two.

Here’s the Companies House list of Furreed’s companies. I’ll ignore some of the older ones and start with Assure Connect Ltd, where we find the three I’ve just introduced.

This company was formed in September 2019, has filed no accounts, uses as its address the old Evening Post offices in Swansea, and is presumably facing strike-off.

Next up is Majasala Ltd. And now it gets interesting. Formed in March 2023 this company’s ‘investments’ jumped from zero in year ending 31.03.2024 to £4,443,982 in a year! Furreed is the only director and sole shareholder of this ‘management consultancy’.

Though thanks to ‘creditors’ Majasala returned a deficit of £447,961.

Now we turn to WRYL Ltd, also based in the SA1 Waterfront district. This outfit was born 10.03.2023 and buried unmourned 20.08.2024. During its brief existence Furreed, John and Williams were the directors. It filed no accounts.

But before its demise, WRYL was taken over, in March 2024, by View Investments Ltd. Where we find Nicholas Simon Pritchard! (More on Nick later.) View Investments was formed 19.10.2023, yet in is first accounts, 30.10.2024, Pritchard’s company could declare assets of £5,486,684.

Where could it have come from?

We now turn to Secret Squirrel Property Ltd. What a lovely name! Is it a reference to squirrels hiding their nuts? This company was launched 18.11.2024, so it hasn’t needed to file accounts yet.

But a confirmation statement tells us that each of the following owns 1,000 shares: Majasala Ltd (which we’ve already looked at), LEJ Holdings Ltd, and TWE Partnership Ltd. So let’s see what entertainment they can provide.

LEJ Holdings, launched 9 March 2023 is, as the initials suggest, the company of Lewis Edward John. The most recent accounts paint the following picture.

Total assets of over ten million pounds, all arriving between the end of March 2024 and the end of March 2025, but virtually all wiped out by creditors. With the  accounts saying only, “owed to related parties“.

TWE Partnership Ltd paints a similar picture. Some five million pounds in assets, most of it accounted for by ‘debtors’, with creditors leaving just £217,000 in the piggy-bank.

Back to Furreed, and his most recent venture, Claimwise (UK) Ltd. Launched three days before Christmas just past. Four directors; Furreed, a younger man of the same name, perhaps his son, plus his regular partners, John and Williams.

The younger Furreed has a real estate company, JFurreed Property Network Ltd, formed in August last year. And just before Christmas he started up JFurreed Holdings Ltd.

So . . . after the most recent accounts for Consumer Energy Solutions, and before it was announced that the company had gone belly-up, ∼£25,000,000 appeared in the accounts of companies run by the three individuals who’d been directors of CES, and another company that was transferred to Nick Pritchard.

Companies that had virtually, or even literally, nothing before these windfalls.

You can draw your own conclusions on these rags to riches stories.

UPDATE 03.02.2026, RUMBLING ON:

This article is from today’s Western Mail. It also appeared in the Daily Post.

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CAIRNGORM CAPITAL PARTHERS AND THE ‘LAST MAN STANDING’

Earlier I wrote, “These companies are all owned by Dragon 2023 Topco Ltd, which is in turn owned by Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP, part of the Cairngorm Capital group of Edinburgh“.

But as the website tells us:

Cairngorm Capital is a specialist private equity firm providing investment capital, strategic insight and sector-specific expertise to leading UK companies. We invest in private mid-market companies that have the potential for further substantial growth.

Which suggests that Cairngorm can act as a conduit between investors looking for “companies that have the potential for further substantial growth” and companies that fit the bill and need investment.

And that might be the case with Consumer Energy Solutions and the linked companies in the group. But if so, then where might the money be coming from to begin with?

After doing work like this for a few years I’ve noticed that ‘background’ companies will often have a representative serve as a director and/or a senior officer within the company invested in to keep an eye on things.

With the retrofitting group we’re looking at, we saw Cairngorm Capital LLP had its representatives in the forms of Matt Anstead, former managing director, and Andrew Steele, managing partner.

Steele succeeded Anstead on the board of holding company Dragon 2023 Topco Ltd just before Anstead left to join Benoil Services Ltd.

When we look at who’s left in the companies subordinate to the Topco, we see one name, the sole director, and that name is Robert Benjamin Nathaniel Brodie. So it’s worth asking if Brodie might be representing someone else. And if so, then who?

One possibility – and admittedly I’m flying a kite here – is the company he left in March 2024, Ensera UK Bidco Ltd. Which for some reason is not listed in his Linkedin page.

This company is owned by Stark UK Topco (Guernsey) Ltd, owner of Jewson, the builders supplier. Which is where it gets a bit messy. For Google AI tells us:

Stark UK Topco (Guernsey) Ltd is part of the larger Stark Group, a major building materials distributor, and is ultimately owned by CVC Capital Partners Fund VII, a global private equity firm that acquired the STARK Group in 2021. CVC manages investments for various global institutions, including pension plans, meaning it’s owned by many investors worldwide. 

And there seems to be little doubt about it. “Fund VII will have over €16 billion of equity capital available to invest. It is the largest European fundraising on record.”, says Simpson Thacher.

Though there has been the odd hiccup.

We are clearly dealing with major investors. And serious money.

But the point is that Brodie was tied up with this lot, then joined the retrofitting companies we’re looking at. So let’s look at when Brodie joined the companies that were out in the field, as it were, doing the work. Which excludes the ‘Dragon’ companies. (Click on date for details.)

In all these companies he is now the sole director. After leaving Ensera UK Bidco Ltd, ultimately owned by CVC Capital partners Fund VII, on March 22, 2024.

Diversity Network Holdings Ltd 28.05.2024.

Advance Energy Services Ltd 28.05.2024.

City Energy Facilities Management Ltd 28.05.2024.

Simply Electric Metering Ltd 28.05.2024.

City Training Group Ltd 28.05.2024.

Consumer Energy Solutions Ltd 31.05.2024.

City Energy Network Ltd 24.06.2024.

Heatforce (Wales) Ltd 01.07.2024.

Still clutching the string of my ever-so-pretty kite . . . Robert Benjamin Nathaniel Brodie could be representing those behind CVC Capital Partners Fund VII, who’ve been investing in these Welsh companies through Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP.

If I’m wrong, then why did Brodie get involved in the first place, and why is he the last man in the wheelhouse when everybody else has abandoned these sinking ships?

UPDATE 20.01.2026: A fresh comment to my earlier post on these companies suggests that getting involved with Cairngorm often results in going bust. So I checked. And it’s true. Here’s what I put out on X.

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WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

Earlier I mentioned Nicholas Pritchard, Bangor City ultra, businessman. To help you appreciate what a busy boy he’s been, I compiled a list of companies he’s been involved with for the piece I put out last month. Here it is.

There have been a few developments.

When writing last month’s piece I was particularly intrigued by Pritchard’s involvement with the company Quidos of Bath which, as you’ll see from the image below, provides both training and accreditation.

Some might think that a company wanting to take advantage of government schemes, and then send out untrained – but ‘accredited’ – operatives to do sub-standard work, would find a company like Quidos attractive.

There is now a long list of Quidos companies, some even giving Welsh addresses. Such as Quidos AI Ltd, Quidos Capital Ltd, Quidos Facilities Ltd, and Quidos Protect Ltd. These new companies or acquisitions were launched, or changed name, less than a year ago.

Control is often exercised through Quidos Holdings, or another Pritchard company giving an Essex address, where Quidos Group Ltd is based. Just look at who’s funding Quidos Group – Pritchard himself and View 2 Investments Ltd.

The latter, a company set up in October 2024, is due to be struck off by Companies House for not filing a confirmation statement.

Think about it . . . View 2 Investments, set up 29.10.2024, is lending money to another Pritchard company, Quidos Group, formed April 2024, and giving a Romford, Essex address, to buy substantial semi-detached properties in Holyhead!

Another Pritchard company giving an Essex address is Hathaway House Holdings Ltd.

In the address given for a number of Pritchard companies you will have seen the name ‘Bodlondeb’ a few times. This is the fine old council building in Conwy, now leased to Quidos Investments Ltd.

I wonder what Pritchard has planned for the old pile?

Enough! I’m going giddy.

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Let’s think again about the 25 million quid we looked at earlier; will Furreed, John, Williams and Pritchard really be keeping it, or is it going somewhere else? Maybe after they’re taken their cut?

And let’s not forget they have shares.

The three CES directors were paying themselves big salaries, and also paying CES money into their private companies. It was probably the same throughout the group. And “close family members” were recruited as “subcontractors“.

But beyond the financial, there are other considerations.

Not least, the customers left in the lurch. With shoddy work that needs fixing, or jobs that have simply been left unfinished. Disgruntled customers even have a website. Here’s how it reported ‘The Collapse of Consumer Energy Solutions‘.

One homeowner with whom we are in contact felt forced to sell their home after the devastating impact of a CES install. Another was moved into a care home pending restoration of their heating. And another family with an ill child claims to have been temporarily rehoused by their local authority

We’ve looked at the possible role of Quidos in training and accrediting those who worked for CES. But what about TrustMark, which seems to be funded and owned by the very companies it should be monitoring?

And local authorities that put companies like CES on their ‘Approved’ list? We know that Ahmud Saleem Furreed is a Labour party donor in the Merthyr Tydfil & Aberdare constituency, are there other political connections?

The reason for the collapse of CES and the other companies is almost certainly the impending end of the ECO4 scheme, scheduled for March 31. With so much public money having been allocated, there should be a forensic investigation of whether the money was well spent.

Seeing as we’ve been looking at Welsh companies that operate across the UK, and have gained a bad reputation, for themselves and for Wales, it should be a matter of concern for our politicians. And our media.

But our politicians are virtue-signalling clowns who spend most of their time trying to outdo each other in Wokery. While our media regurgitates their vapid utterances, trying to make us believe such laughable posturing will do anything to improve the real world we poor mortals inhabit.

There should now be a thorough investigation into what went wrong with CES and associated companies. But it won’t happen. There may be attempts to put right the botched work, the unfinished jobs – which will use up more public money.

But otherwise, there’ll be little more than hand-wringing and platitudes.

That’s due to the fact that too many of those who should have been monitoring the activities of these companies, protecting the public interest, were either negligent, or complicit.

Because that, gentle reader, is the state we’re in.

♦ end ♦

© Royston Jones 2026

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‘Corruption Bay’ Living Up To Its Name?

On By JacIn Climate, Colonialism, Development Bank of Wales, Labour Party36 Comments

This is a big post, in two ways. First, because there’s a lot of money involved. And second, because an incredible claim I stumbled upon throws up a very disturbing possibility.

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HITTING THE BIG TIME (REVISITED)

In July I wrote about companies in south east Wales being bought out and having lots of money pumped into them. You’ll find it here; ‘Saving The Planet – The Globalist Way!’.

These companies are involved in, “energy efficiency“; which means ‘retrofitting’ homes with solar panels, cavity wall insulation, heat pumps, loft insulation, that kind of thing.

They’re all linked under the holding company Dragon 2023 Topco Ltd. From the most recent accounts submitted to Companies House here’s a list of the companies owned.

And here’s my table of the interlinked companies and individuals involved, in pdf format with working links. (And helpful notes!)

The majority shareholding in Dragon 2023 Topco lies with Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP of Edinburgh. Part of the Cairngorm group of companies. Dragon 2023 Topco’s directors are: Robert Brodie; Chris McLain; Andrew Steel, managing partner of Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP; and Jonathan Neale.

Steel is also named as the controlling interest.

Another key player is, or was, Matt Anstead, managing director of Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP. Below is a clip from Anstead’s Linkedin page.

You’ll see Anstead joined Cairngorm around the time they took over the Welsh companies. Was he brought in for that job? And was the takeover funded with three loans in 2024 from Metro Bank?

Funding to the companies themselves comes from Alter Domus, a company registered in Luxembourg, that seeks ‘alternative investments’, and was recently taken over itself by another private equity firm Cinven.

What’s really behind it is, as ever, money. Local companies expand thanks to the UK government ECO4 scheme, making them attractive to bigger fish; while also offering opportunities for others to profit from investing in these companies and then claiming to be saving the planet in some way.

There are obviously pay-offs for those who’ve been previously involved in the companies, and of course jobs are created; but as ever – this being socialist Wales – the real money leaves the country.

I make that point because, as you should know by now, I support the capitalist model, and I have no objections to profits being made. But as a Welshman, and a nationalist, it pisses me off to see the profits leave Wales.

Wasn’t devolution supposed to improve things?

Before pushing on maybe I should remind you that July’s post was in two parts. One dealt with the companies taken over by Cairngorm Capital; the other with companies in the same area, and the same line of business, that were taken over by Buckthorn Partners LLP of Jersey.

Maybe I’ll return to this second lot another day.

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NICK PRITCHARD

Now we’re going to look at another man with a role in (he certainly benefitted from) the takeovers we just looked at. Though it’s not always easy to figure it out.

If the name rings a bell, it might be because Pritchard appeared in a Nation.Cymru article a few weeks back written by Martin ‘Shippo’ Shipton. It recounted Pritchard’s conviction in 2010 for growing cannabis, or providing premises where it might be grown.

So why bring it up now? Because Pritchard is associated with Reform UK, and may wish to stand for the UK parliament. This interest in his past is another sign of the desperate establishment that recently sent down Nathan Gill for something he said in 2018, and is now hunting for people Nigel Farage might have thrown milk over in kindergarten.

All done because the Globalist elite, and the political and media establishments they control, are getting worried by the rise of the ‘far right’ across the Western world. And so, as a mouthpiece for the Corruption Bay Uniparty, Nation.Cymru must get stuck in . . . or risk losing its ‘Welsh Government’ funding.

That said, Nick Pritchard is an interesting character; he seems to be a bit of a Jack the Lad, always looking for ways to make money. Nothing wrong with that as long as you stay on the sunny side.

But things never seem to be simple with Pritchard. Take this piece from Ideas Fest promoting his appearance at some event next year (my highlighting):

In 2013, Nick founded City Energy Network, an innovative energy efficiency consultancy based in Cardiff. The company specialises in the full retrofit journey from initial consultation to the implementation of the renewable measures recommended, his group of companies plan, and installs energy efficiency and low carbon measures for both homes and businesses and also specialises in Local Authority large scale projects.

But it makes no sense.

For a start, City Energy Network Ltd (CEN) was formed in 2011, but Pritchard’s name never appeared as a director or a shareholder. Perhaps because, Pritchard, sent down in 2010 for three-and-a-half years, would have been in prison when CEN was formed.

And what’s included in “the group of companies“?

Seeing as 2013 is mentioned by Ideas Fest, Pritchard may have been represented by one or both of Nicola Vaughan and Michelle Roberts, who became CEN directors 31.01.2014.

But even after he was released from prison I’m fairly sure Pritchard would have been disqualified from acting as a director for a few years. If he was operating through Roberts and / or Vaughan at CEN then “proxy management” is a criminal offence.

Coinciding with the arrival of Roberts and Vaughan all 100 CEN shares were transferred to Diversity Network Holdings Ltd (DNH), which Roberts and Vaughan had joined 28.01.2014. Pritchard didn’t become a director until April 2020.

A declaration dated 28.01.2015 shows the 100 DNH shares now distributed thus:

Though Pritchard did join Diversity Network Ltd 14.05.2012, which might have been not long after he was out of prison. And surely disqualified? Also directors were Michelle Roberts and Shelley Roberts.

There are other anomalies I could point out. Check names, DoB, dates.

When he was sent to prison Pritchard was reported to be in the “lettings business” in Bangor and other parts of north west Wales. He’s from Bangor, passionate about the local football club, he serves on the city council, so how and why did he get involved with companies in a totally different line of business at the opposite end of the country?

Hoping to make sense of it on a wet night with no football on the telly, I compiled a list of the companies Pritchard’s been involved with. Here it is, with the company name serving as a hyperlink.

You’ll see three company names in yellow blocks. These are also found in the previous table I linked to, showing the companies taken over by Cairngorm Capital. His past involvement with these companies perhaps accounts for Pritchard’s sizeable share allocation in holding company Dragon 2023 Topco Ltd.

You’ll see other individuals there with sizeable shareholdings. All have been involved with the companies we’re looking at. And Ahmud Saleem Eamon Furreed is a Labour party donor. (There may be other donors.)

Obviously, companies doing the kind of work we’re looking at need a stamp of approval, some accreditation. From a company like Quidos of Bath. And as you can see if you scroll down on that link, you have to pay for it.

But Pritchard now seems to own Quidos through year-old Quidos Holdings Ltd!

It could make life easier when you’ve got big stakes in companies ‘retrofitting’ and you also own a company that’ll give them a certificate to put up on the office wall saying they know what they’re doing.

Though many would disagree. Such as those involved with this website. Or those who gave these reviews to a company that’s among the clutch bought up by Cairngorm.

And we’ve all heard tales of cavity wall insulation resulting in damp and other horrors. I could tell you my own story.

You might have noticed that in some of his most recent business ventures Pritchard has been joined by celeb economist Dylan Jones-Evans.

What the hell is that about?

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WHERE IT GETS WEIRD

While researching this article I stumbled upon a remarkable letter addressed to Paul Davies AS/SM, in his capacity as chair of the Senedd Economy, Trade and Rural Affairs Committee.

It gets included in this piece because I’m convinced there’s a connection to what you’ve just read. Anyway, here’s the (redacted) letter. I urge you to read it carefully and consider what it alleges.

After reading it I last Monday I e-mailed Paul Davies asking what had happened to the complaint. Here’s his response. (The links don’t work as there’s an issue with linking to pdf docs created from e-mails.)

So here’s the link to the report on the DBW he references (Section 9).

I asked if I could use his response and he agreed.

I would have tried to contact the complainant, but one problem was that I believe he’s moved from his original address. The other reason will be given later.

What the letter alleges is that the complainant (hereinafter referred to as ‘A’) came up with a good idea, and was doing quite well . . .

The company grew quickly and gained significant market traction with companies such as Sainsburys Supermarkets and BT Openreach.

But presumably needing to expand, ‘A’ in 2017 applied to Finance Wales (now Development Bank of Wales) for a loan. That’s when things started going wrong.

Not only does ‘A’ claim he had to take on “a bank-appointed expert”, and pay that ‘expert’ £150,000 pa, but . . .

Less than 1 year later, I was accused of taking “unauthorised funds” from the company’s bank account and sacked.

This happened to be just 1 month after my refusal to sell the business to BT Group.

I lost my job, my shares (approx £3.8m at that time), my patent (£13m-£17m valuation) and was forced to go bankrupt in September 2018.

Is the complainant suggesting a link between him refusing to sell up to the BT Group and the criminal charges that soon followed?

Things got even worse. ‘A’ was arrested, tried at Swansea Crown Court – but was acquitted by the jury. (Which might explain why the Labour government in Westminster wants trials without juries.)

To add insult to injury . . .

To note, after my dismissal the business was moved from Lampeter . . . where we employed up to 17 local people to Cardiff. Where they employed only 3.

After the business moved to Cardiff, both [name redacted] and [name redacted] set up new battery storage business, using my invention, and even got further funding from DBoW for these copy cat companies.

That is one hell of a story. And yet, if you think about it, the danger of such an outcome is always there. Just imagine . . .

Dai Schmuck out in the sticks comes up with a good idea, but he needs money to expand. So he goes to the Development Bank of Wales. They appoint ‘advisors’, who may move in the same circles as the bank officials who give them the gig.

The DBW admits to appointing the same favourites as ‘advisors’ again and again.

In a follow up letter to the Committee’s session with the Bank, the Chief Executive noted that it did re-appoint the same people
multiple times if it thought that person was a good match and had capacity.

Though an unscrupulous ‘advisor’ might say to himself: “Hang on, this bloke’s got a good idea – let’s nick it and make a fortune“. It’s a sweet system, but only if you’re well connected in Corruption Bay.

I could tell you more, but I’d be sticking my scrawny neck out. What I will say is that as I know the name of the company ‘A’ is referring to I can probably identify those he claims ripped him off.

From what I can see, ‘A’s allegations seem to have been kicked into the long grass. Maybe nobody in Corruption Bay wants to know the truth. Or perhaps they don’t want us to know the truth.

But the real twist is that ‘A’ is now teamed up with Nick Pritchard. And this happened soon after he started making waves with his letter to Andrew Davies.

What the hell is that about?

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CONCLUSION

We need an independent investigation into the Development Bank of Wales.

In particular, we need to know how it chooses ‘advisors’ for small companies needing help. We also need to know the conditions imposed on those companies. And the behaviour expected of the ‘advisors’.

But then, it’s unlikely anyone will get straight answers. Because Wales is corrupt.

All devolution has done is give Labour more chances to be corrupt, more money to squander, while also providing more opportunities for cronyism. Third sector outfits, pressure groups (closed to non-socialists), are funded to fight problems that don’t exist.

Sinecures and non-jobs for insiders proliferate.

In recent decades Labour’s joined forces with Plaid Cymru. Together, they’ve built a fortress they see as a bastion from where they combat racists, homophobes, climate deniers, Islamophobes, a white supremacist countryside, misinformation, and colonialist Welsh cakes!

In truth, it’s ‘Corruption Bay’, and its enemies are honesty and openness.

Because what they get up to must be kept secret. This explains why Corruption Bay is unique in the Western world in refusing to have a register of lobbyists. “Why do you need to know?”

But I’m forgetting Cairngorm Capital, Nick Pritchard and the rest . . . here we have a man with a ‘colourful’ past, dubious associates, now teamed up with Professor Dylan Jones-Evans, who’s often critical of the DBW. Pritchard also teamed up with ‘A’ soon after ‘A’s complaint against DBW was heard.

What the hell is that about?

Answers on a postcard please. (I will not accept diagrams or flowcharts.)

♦ end ♦

© Royston Jones 2025