Glenrothes MSP Exposes Town’s Absentee Landlords

Published date : 26 Mar 2018

Glenrothes MSP exposes town’s absentee landlords

The town’s MSP this week exposed the Kingdom Shopping centre’s absentee landlords in the Scottish Parliament. Jenny Gilruth MSP has been leading a campaign for greater investment in Glenrothes town centre in its 70th year. Commenting the MSP said:

‘The issue in Glenrothes is that no one actually knows who owns our town. That creates a feeling of worthlessness for business and employees who can’t see the fruits of their labour being invested in the place they work’.

On Thursday in Holyrood, the town’s MSP revealed the complex web of companies, who all have an attachment to the Kingdom Centre. Speaking in the debate on Fair Work the MSP commented:

‘Mars Pensions Trustees have 6 active officers listed on the companies house website. But only one organisation is described as ‘an active person with significant control’. That’s actually another company called simply ‘Food Manufacturers’ – of which their only ‘active person with significant control’ is ‘Effem Holdings Limited’ – another company’.

According to information gathered from Companies House, no one person or company has control of Effem Holdings, however a Mr Ian James Langer is listed as a shareholder in all three of the companies mentioned. As of the 22nd March 2018, Effem Holdings Limited has a capital balance of over £2 million. The company are a holding subsidiary of Mars Incorporated. Mars Incorporated are listed as the 6th wealthiest business in America, with a $35billion turnover.

The MSP’s appeals to the 6 shareholders in February has been ignored. Jenny Gilruth MSP has now written to Mars Incorporated chair, Victoria B Mars & to the companies President Grant F Reid, at the companies U.S Headquarters.

“Enough is enough. We cannot sustain a position whereby faceless investors run our town. These individuals are extremely wealthy. Look at the downward spiral of businesses leaving Glenrothes – we need a plan to attract new jobs. We need Mars to step up.”

ENDS

Notes – (https://www.forbes.com/largest-private-companies/list/)

Local Reporters, East Fife Mail, Glenrothes Gazette, St Andrews Citizen, Courier (Fife), COMMUNITY, LOCAL BUSINESS