After writing about this project in September 2017 I didn’t think I’d be returning to Rhydycar West. But here we are in 2023 and it’s been resurrected. If you’ve got 3 minutes to spare, there’s even a video.
Though it would definitely help you follow this piece if you read what I put out in 2017. Here are links to Merthyr Ski Slope and Merthyr Ski Slope 2, Slippery Customers.
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BACKGROUND
The area we’re talking about is called Rhydycar West because it’s on the west side of the A470 from Rhydycar, and up towards Heolgerrig.
The site of the project is roughly in the centre of the image below; the image itself comes courtesy of Ordnance Survey.
I can’t give you much history other than it’s an old industrial site, once owned by the National Coal Board, containing a considerable amount of waste.
The first mention I can find in this century says that in 2001 the 600 acre site was sold by owner Celtic Energy Ltd for £2m to Merthyr Village Ltd, formed in July 2000.
That 2001 report also says: ‘The plans include a 15,000-seater football stadium, more than 300 executive houses, two hotels, a 12-screen multiplex cinema, bowling alley, swimming pool, new leisure centre, 3,000-seater multipurpose hall and shopping units.’
No mention at this stage of skiing, snowboarding, and the like.
The first directors of Merthyr Village Ltd were the family of Wynford Holloway, who had bought the town’s football club a few years before; also local entertainer Lynn Mittell (Owen Money); and ill-starred solicitor William Snowdon.
The central element was clearly the stadium, to be built in the hope that Merthyr Town FC would gain promotion to the professional English leagues. That never happened.
And because Merthyr rejected the Welsh set-up it now plays in the Southern League Premier Division South, going knee to knee with giants of the game like Hartley Wintney and Hanwell Town. (What do you mean, you’ve never heard of them!)
The final blow to the project was the so-called ‘Welsh Government’ calling it in in 2007.
That might have appeared to be the end.
UPDATE 18.01.2023: Merthyr Village Ltd is in liquidation.
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A PASSION FOR ISLANDS
Before the Merthyr Village project was called in, and perhaps intended as a consolation prize, a development was announced for the other side of the A470. And the report I’ve linked to tells us Merthyr Borough Council (or someone) awarded the contract to Atlantic Property Developments Plc of Cardiff.
This company is owned by Peter ‘The Pies’ Thomas, a Merthyr boy originally, but now firmly part of the Cardiff establishment, and owner of the Cardiff rugby outfit. (Does it still pretend to be a region?)
I love the Companies House entry that has his name as ‘Obe Peter Thomas’.
Did the committee chaired by Carwyn Jones call in the Merthyr Village project to give Peter Thomas’s scheme a clear run? An ungenerous thought, maybe, but this is Wales.
Peter Thomas and brother Stan have prospered mightily in the age of devolution. Do you remember how Stan was able to buy publicly-owned land at knock-down prices thanks to incompetence or corruption at the Regeneration Investment Fund for Wales?
The Thomas brothers had a big stake in Cardiff airport, and then the ‘Welsh Government’ paid an absurdly inflated price for that deathly pale pachyderm when . . . Carwyn Jones was First Minister.
I wrote about the land deals back in March 2016, in Pies, Planes & Property Development, followed up with Pies, Planes & Property Development 2.
The company, Merthyr Village Ltd, hung on, but the only director since October 30, 2013, has been Richard Frank Arnold of Colchester, Essex. He who now wishes to bring Méribel to Merthyr.
In the first part of this (to date) trilogy I quoted a September 2017 WalesOnline article. It told us that the project was a collaboration between Marvel Ltd, represented by Canadian Leigh Gerald Large; and Snowsport Cymru Wales, represented by Robin Kellen.
I found a number of UK-registered companies with which Large was associated, but Marvel was not one of them. In addition to the companies I’ve just linked to, Large had companies registered in the British Virgin Islands.
But then, Large gets about. He may originally be from Victoria, British Columbia; but he’s also lived in Sweden, England, and has business links with Guernsey, Cyprus, and the Isle of Man.
To cut a long story short, I eventually tracked down Marvel Ltd in Guernsey. (Though it also used the address of a Wimbledon solicitor.) The company was formed 9 September 2013. Though Marvel eventually ‘migrated’ 26 July 2021.
But by an amazing coincidence, there was another company with the same name in the Isle of Man, which was also registered 9 September 2013!
Having companies with the same name in different jurisdictions, or even the same jurisdiction, seems to be the way of doing things for those involved with the Merthyr ski project.
Another example would be ‘Cavendish’, which crops up in various forms. Such as Cavendish Trust Company Ltd, and with an address just a few doors away at 31 – 37 North Quay, is said to be Marvel’s agent.
Though Companies House tells us there is also a Cavendish Trustees Ltd sharing the 34 North Quay address with Marvel. Also at 34 we find Cavendish International Ltd. And Cavendish Secretaries Ltd.
A second entry for Cavendish Secretaries Ltd gives us a few more companies using the 34 North Quay address.
And then, to complicate things even further, there is an entry for Cavendish Secretaries at 31 – 37 North Quay.
I shan’t dig for any more. I’ll only say that so many companies, using the same name in the same or different jurisdictions, should not inspire confidence. How are you supposed to know who you’re dealing with?
And it might be about to get worse.
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WHO’S BEHIND IT?
When confronted with the problem I just outlined I often find that it helps avoid complete confusion by seeing who runs or owns those companies.
So let’s look at Cavendish Trustees Ltd of 34 North Quay, Douglas. The ‘Beneficial Owner’ is listed as James Cunningham-David. But I had trouble finding him.
Because his name is really James Nicholas Cunningham-Davis. And with the correct name a few companies appear. One still extant is Infinity Gaming Solutions (UK) Ltd.
And while it too is based at 34 North Quay in Douglas it also uses as an address 66A Reigate Road, Ewell, Epsom, Surrey. A little bungalow looking out over a roundabout and some kind of industrial estate.
There’s nothing in the kitty to bother us with Infinity Gaming Solutions but I’d like to turn your attention to another of the directors, Pritesh Ramesh Desai. Apparently a resident of the Isle of Man Desai is now a director of Pine Fields Private Ltd, which has been involved at Rhydycar West for a few years.
Desai and Cunningham-Davis may have attended the same school. I suggest that because they are the only trustees of the Old Epsomian Club 1952 Trust Fund.
Also bringing Desai and Cunningham-Davis together is Inquba Group Holding Company Ltd, which was taken over in October last year by Cavendish Trustees Ltd of 34 North Quay, etc.
This link gives a few of Desai’s older companies.
Here’s Desai’s Linkedin profile. (Here in pdf format.) Though it’s amazing how few of the many, many companies he’s been involved with get a mention.
Desai joined Pine Fields in May last year. And if we scroll down on the company directors page we see that a previous director was Richard Frank Arnold. We met him earlier, he being the only director of Merthyr Village Ltd since October 2013.
And in the recent press release he is the project spokesman.
We also see that Leigh Gerald Large, who fronted the bid back in 2017, was drummed out of Pine Fields in July of that year.
If we check who now exerts control over Pine Fields we see that it’s Cherry Blossom Global Ltd. And although this outfit gives the familiar address on North Quay, and has been registered on the IoM since May 2010, I suspect it’s also berthed in the British Virgin Islands.
We have now established links between Rhydycar West and assorted entities hither and yon . . . but are we any wiser?
It doesn’t end there.
For Pritesh Ramesh Desai and entities with which he’s associated predictably appear more than once in the Offshore Leaks Database. One entry suggests he himself has links with Iran! Perhaps less worryingly, he also has links with Cyprus, Malta and God knows where else.
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WHO OWNS WHAT?
Time now to try to figure out who actually owns the site at Rhydycar West.
Originally, of course, it was Merthyr Village Ltd, which bought the site from Celtic Energy. But as we’ve seen, that project got knocked back by the ‘Welsh Government’.
Even so, according to Companies House there are still two charges outstanding against Merthyr Village Ltd. The one that’s relevant to us is, ‘F/H Land at Colliers Row Merthyr Tydfil t/no CYM6191.‘ (It’s actually Upper Colliers’ Row.)
However, the Land Registry title document shows that ownership is now in the hands of Marvel Ltd, of 58 High Street, Wimbledon (though there is no title plan available at the Land Registry). The address given seems to be an office of estate agent Knight Frank.
Marvel may be squatting on Wimbledon High Street due to it being Guernsey registered. Formed on September 9, 2013, just a couple of weeks before taking possession of the land at Colliers’ Row.
A later entry on the Land Registry document for CYM6191 tells us that just over a year ago, in December 2021, control of the title was taken by Goco International Ltd. This entity is also incorporated in Guernsey, and also uses an address we’re all familiar with – 34 North Quay, Douglas, Isle of Man.
Which appears to the headquarters for Pritesh Ramesh Desai.
I can’t tell you much more about Goco as I can’t afford to buy documents from the Guernsey Registry. Though I turned up nothing in the Offshore Leaks Database for Goco.
Before finishing this section I’d better identify what are probably a few more relevant land titles.
One is ‘Land at Heolgerrig‘ (scroll down for plan). Title in the name of Pine Fields Private Ltd. We met this lot earlier in this sprawling narrative. Although the company has been around since August 2010 we saw that Pritesh Ramesh Desai joined in May 2022.
This land was sold by Merthyr Village Ltd in July 2009 to Crystalrock Ltd, where the only director left is Richard Frank Arnold. It then transferred to Pine Fields Private Ltd in August 2011 for a reported £450,000.
The other title worth considering is ‘Land lying to the North of Upper Colliers’ Row’ Title number: CYM536607 (scroll down for plan). This was transferred in two lots from Merthyr Village Ltd to Crystalrock Ltd, and then passed on to Pine Fields Private Ltd.
Those titles, I think, cover the land involved in the project. Though I’m not 100% certain.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
This project can be viewed in three stages.
The first was obviously the initiative linked with the local football club, promoted by Merthyr Village Ltd, that, for reasons we can only guess at, was scotched by the ‘Welsh Government’ in 2007.
That said, Merthyr Village Ltd is still in existence, looks financially healthy, and while Richard Frank Arnold is the only director, ‘significant control’ is exercised by solicitor William Snowdon, who is connected to the original Merthyr Village directors through them all being directors of Merthyr Tydfil Football Club Ltd.
Which is another reason I suspect the directors of Merthyr Village Ltd may retain a financial interest in the ongoing and modified project.
The second attempt was the one reported in 2017. This was promoted by the footloose Canadian, Leigh Gerald Large, representing Marvel, registered in Guernsey.
For whatever reason, that project also failed to take off.
Which brings us up to 2023, and the third attempt. Again, it’s Marvel, but this time fronted by Richard Frank Arnold.
My belief is that the real difference this time around is the involvement of Pritesh Ramesh Desai. Plus his partners and contacts in assorted island tax havens around the world.
I now expect our tribunes, at both local and national level, plus our ever-vigilant media, to politely ask of those pushing the snow fantasy who’s really behind the project, to explain the galaxy of companies, and the games of musical chairs.
And then there’s the money – where’s it coming from? Surely not from the fun-loving Ayatollahs to whom Desai might be linked! And how much money, because I’m pretty sure those behind this project anticipate a hefty dollop of Welsh public funding.
So many questions!
FOOTNOTE: After e-mailing Mr Desai on January 5 I had a response late last night from Andy Coleman, signing himself, ‘CFO Rhydycar West’, offering to discuss the project.
Given the choice between delivering this post as promised today and delaying it until after I’d spoken with Mr Coleman I choose the former option.
But as I made clear in my reply to Mr Coleman, now that this post is published, he or anyone representing the project is welcome to comment. I’d welcome it.
But I want straight answers, not a stroll down Flim-flam Lane.
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