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Mike Davies, The Southern Foundation, Due Diligence

Page updated 5th February 2012.

This web page is about our experiences with one Michael Davies of Southampton, England. I can't say whether he is a serial fraudster or scammer, always involved in one fraud or scam or another, or as he might maintain, just misunderstood. All I can do is record our experiences, and put up some documentary evidence to go with it. If you are performing due diligence on this person, perhaps in relation to some investment into a film or carbon trading idea (“Organicc”), or a patch of land, or a care home maybe, some of what you read here may be helpful. According to English libel law, if what I write is true, it is not libellous: only demonstrably false statements are actionable and I will only write here what I can prove. As it happens, due to the number of court cases there have been against this person, there is a lot of documentary evidence (and witnesses). Nevertheless, he is still free to be a company director.

I first encountered Mike Davies when I was working for a film company, Spiked Wheel Films (now dissolved as explained later). They were advertising online at a business angels site, seeking investment into a film production that they and their sister company had been working on for some ten years or more. Mike Davies responded, claiming to represent a US charitable foundation, The Southern Foundation for the Advancement of Arts and Education (Southern Foundation for short). In the process of arranging loans to Spiked Wheel, Charles Sheehan III of the Southern Foundation visited the film studio on one occasion, travelling from the USA to do so - so there must have been something in it for him in the long run, I suppose (searches online find another Charles Sheehan III, a surgeon, not to be confused with this one).

Here are some documents relating to the Southern Foundation. A number of individuals involved with the organisation seem to have questionable stock trading histories. The Southern Foundation itself does not seem to have invested in any charitable causes. Its website (which I will not link to but you can find it with a search engine) has named none over the past few years. It claims to have billions in assets, but its only published accounts show a net liability and no huge assets. Despite the promissory notes from them (and there are more than are listed here), the Southern Foundation did not pay a penny on these promises to anyone at any time, as far as I know (I have spoken with a number of the individuals concerned).

On Mr Davies himself, some searching throws up a lot of information. First of all, on LinkedIn, it seems he has a lot of interest in carbon trading, a field known for being wide open to fraud or scams, as any cursory search on Google or YouTube will show you. That is no evidence of his intention, of course.

On that LinkedIn page, Mike Davies says, "Organicc is a carbon project development company incorporating project management, sourcing, acquisition, funding and delivery. Organicc also works with carbon trading companies to facilitate sales of the credits and carbon science providers to enable accreditation. The companys' primary focus is on REDD+ projects, soil-based carbon projects and Improved Cookstove distribution." The page shows his interest in and membership of many carbon trading groups.

Organicc is just one of his many companies. We did produce a website for the company (organicc.co.uk), but as he didn't pay for it, he is now using a template-based website from elsewhere. A director's report of his companies shows that he is British, born 1st April 1962, and operates mainly from Unit 6, Stanton Industrial Estate, Stanton Road, Shirley, Southampton SO40 2PE, although this is not his private address. Some of his companies have been registered at his private address, however, including Fellowship Films Ltd. In the table below, I have grouped the companies according to their apparent areas of interest (land or landbanking, film, social ‘care’, carbon trading, etc.), although these divisions cannot be definitive. A close look at some of the appointment dates suggests that they may not be separate at all. Anyway, companies of Mr Michael Davies of Southampton include:

CompanyNumberStatusNotes
Red Carpet Film Adviser Ltd 07270531 Dormant Mike Davies was accused by the management of Fellowship Films Ltd of setting RCFA up to control investment funds into Fellowship Films Ltd, which he denied. The dispute led to the breakup of Fellowship Films Ltd. He was not listed as a director of RCFA Ltd, but was a de facto director. The other directors wanted nothing to do with him after this and left the company, and Fellowship Films as well. Incorporated 1st June 2010
Fellowship Films Ltd 06604256 Dissolution delayed as legal action for debt recovery is pending A film production company; taken to the Employment Tribunal for non-payment of an employee's wages, and lost. The company owes £3,972 (plus some subsequent costs and 8% interest) to the employee (my wife) and has not paid it. Other employees were not paid fully either. HMRC were not informed by him that the company had employees. Many employees were paid less than the National Minimum Wage. No income tax or National Insurance was paid for any of them from March 2010 to August 2010 when the company broke up due to disagreements between the management and Mr Davies over the Red Carpet Film Fund, his control of the bank account, and his failure to appoint other directors as previously agreed. Mike Davies was the sole director and responsible for payment of wages and in sole control of the company's bank account. Investment into this company of between £3,000 and £15,000 is currently missing as, despite resigning himself as sole director of the company when he heard of the impending Employment Tribunal case (contrary to the Companies Act 1985 Section 349(1)(c) and Companies Act 2006 Section 84), the bank account was closed. At the time of his resignation he appointed two of the company's managers as directors without their permission and some 5 months after they had resigned from the company, with his own resignation form dated October 2010 (so outside the time limits for submission anyway). He has since told bailiffs that he has nothing to do with the company any more and does not possess any of the company's assets, even though the physical assets were delivered to him at his home in October 2010. One of the managers was originally hired and persuaded to invest on the basis of a Southern Foundation promissory note (name obscured). Despite these incidents, he was not found to be personally liable by the Tribunal. One wonders what someone has to do to be found liable in this country? The High Court is not realistically available to those with less than six figures to burn. The authorities (HMRC and the Insolvency Service) have been informed of all this but there seems to be little interest in pursuing low-level fraud in this country. Even forcing a company into liquidation so directors can be investigated costs at least £1,800. Also, the Insolvency Service will only accept complaints about a company from customers, so complaints from, for example, former employees who might know a good deal about what happened at the company, don't count. In effect, the legal system endorses such activity and it is free to continue indefinitely. He was director from 28th June 2008.
Katherine The Movie Ltd 07230130 Pre-dissolution Mike Davies' plan with Fellowship Films Ltd could have been to take Spiked Wheel Films' major film project for himself. He loaned them some £225,000 in various stages, backed by the Southern Foundation letter of intent linked to above. There was a clause in the agreement that if Spiked Wheel Films were late with a loan payment, all assets relating to the film would revert to him. This was pointed out to the company but they dismissed it, then failed to make a payment on time. He persuaded staff and managers to leave with all the assets, and was taken to the High Court by the former owners in May 2010. He could not apparently afford the great expense of the case and Spiked Wheel got its assets back in an out of court settlement ratified by the Judge. Mike Davies was granted shares in the company for the money he had loaned them, but Spiked Wheel Films has since been dissolved, unable to continue after the damage done by this and by the fact that the Southern Foundation did not keep any of its promises to fund filming which had gone ahead before enough funds had been raised from elsewhere. Director from 21st April 2010. He became a director of Spiked Wheel Films briefly on 22nd March 2010, but later resigned.
Spiked Wheel Films Ltd 06138012 Dissolved Director from 22nd March 2010. This was originally an entirely separate company of somebody else's that he tried to take over. See the entry for Katherine The Movie Ltd (above).
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Agri Ventura PLC 06714501 In Compulsory Liquidation Web of Landbanking Companies Smashed, a Daily Mirror article: "Nine so-called landbanking outfits have been put into compulsory liquidation following investigation by the Insolvency Service's Companies Investigation Branch. Landbanking scams work by persuading people to invest in plots of green field sites, saying the land will rocket in value when it gets planning permission - which rarely happens. Agri Ventura PLC and Farm Venture Ltd were run by 47-year-old Michael Davies of Southampton and Kevin Neil, also 47, of Chelmsford, Essex." Article also available as an image file: Mike Davies - web of landbanking companies smashed. Michael Davies was director from 3rd October 2008 until it was put into liquidation in early 2010. Here is a copy of the winding up order for Agri Ventura and Farm Venture Ltd.
Farm Venture Ltd 06649975 In Compulsory Liquidation See the notes for Agri Ventura, above. Mike Davies was director from 18th July 2008 until 2010.
Blue Flag Property Services Ltd 03922868 Active Development & Sale of Real Estate. Director from 10th February 2000
Blue Flag Rentals Ltd 04364044 Dissolved Managing Director 31st January 2002
Midas Client Services (Peninsula) Ltd 05993838 Dissolved Director 2 November 2006
Midas Client Services (Peninsular) Ltd 05986961 Dissolved Presumably had a spelling problem. Director 2nd November 2006
Midas Client Services Ltd 05840080 Dissolved Property Sales, manage real estate, fee or contract. Company secretary 7th June 2006
Midas International Property Developments PLC 05785994 In Liquidation Director from 1st January 2007, possibly
Desco Interiors Ltd 03920109 Dissolved Other building installation; Company Secretary 7th February 2003
Ecoprinciples Ltd 06604252 Dormant Specialised Building Trade Contractors. Director from 28th June 2008
CO2 Profit Ltd 06753740 Dissolved 23rd November 2010 Farm/Estate management services. Same address, 1 Trotwood Close, as Cropshare Ltd. Director 19th November 2008
PWR Conservation Ltd 06753739 Dissolved Forestry & Logging. Director 19th November 2008. Same address as Cropshare Ltd.
Cropshare Ltd 06649914 Dissolved Farm/Estate management services. Director from 17th July 2008.
Organicc Ltd 06609769 Probably active "Forestry & Logging related services" - In fact, collecting investment into carbon trading and apparently charitable third-world carbon-related projects (which I have not been able to trace, so I presume they are not real). Going by the business type that is registered, this is similar to the landbanking companies in some way, so I have included in this part of the list, even though from its website and from my personal discussions with Mr Davies when working with him, it is a carbon trading venture of some sort (money-raising venture with a carbon theme, that is). Director 30th June 2009
Guardian Conservation Ltd 06913620 Dissolved Director from 22nd May 2009
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Universal Project Solutions Ltd 06729088 Dormant A bank or deposit-taking company. Director 21st October 2008
Financial Distribution Services Ltd 07073797 Director from 12th December 2009
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First Choice Home Care (UK) Ltd 03922905 Active Nursing Agency. Director from 10th February 2000.
First Choice Community Care Services Ltd 05885520 Dissolved Director from 24th July 2006
Home Farm Foods (Southampton) Ltd 03533973 Dissolved Home delivery of frozen foods, director 24th March 1998
Everycare (Southampton) Ltd 03211274 Dissolved Social work activities without accommodation. Director 12th June 1996.
First Choice Community Support Services Ltd 05901899 Active Social work without accommodation; Director from 10th August 2006 until 2nd June 2008. Website fccss.co.uk
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Angel Investigations Ltd 04001605 Dissolved A related unincorporated business seems to have existed: Angel Investigations (UK), also of Southampton. "Discreet, reliable and efficient service. People/number tracing. Surveillance: matrimonial etc. Process serving. De bugging/electronic equipment." He was appointed as Marketing Director 25th May 2000.

Comments

Comment 1 (details witheld)

I have been scammed by Sheehan the alleged Dr...... They owe me $$$ 1,000,000 US funds ... killing my business & my family....call me xxxxxxxxx

Comment 2 (from Mike Davies, 5th February 2012)

Martin

I feel it is appropriate to post online my experience of Artymind and Alexandra Thompson so that prospective clients can undertake due diligence.

Alexandra Thompson has failed in two attempts to extort money from me personally with both cases being dismissed by a court and an employment tribunal. Any potential customers of Artymind / hers should be warned that they could face similar tactics. I will provide documents written by her and others which support my concerns that potential clients are at risk. Perhaps this is motivated by the financial situation in which the two of you find yourselves and which, according to documents that will be posted online to support my statements, is not good.

It may be that she has been encouraged to adopt this behaviour by you. You are linked with a long list of companies that take investments, including £250,000 of my own money, and then close down – there are 5 to my knowledge + the 3 dodgy Amarine companies that tried to take in money for a non-existent investment fund.

Alexandra is also implicated in the theft of property from Fellowship Films. You admitted in court that you were one of the people that stole the property, copied files from the company’s computers and that Alexandra took part in the planning of this a week earlier.

I have asked the guy who used to run Angel Investigations if he could trace Alexandra’s family to let them know her true situation and to ask whether it is possible that you could be manipulating her financially. She may need her family to intervene to protect her interests. Apparently it is not difficult to trace a family, even overseas.

I have not taken action to date because I felt that it was not my responsibility to get involved but, due to your malicious and inaccurate postings about me, I feel that I now have to act. I would like to think that you will see the sense in not entering into an internet posting war, will immediately remove those postings and will not engage in further acts of this kind.

Best Regards

MIKE DAVIES