FIGURES released by Thurrock Council show that over eight months in 2021 it paid out more than £6.5 million to a property group as part of its deal to lease and eventually take ownership of homes in the borough to increase its social housing numbers.

In August Thurrock Nub News told how the council had reached an agreement with one company, Phi Capital Investments Limited (Phi), which had announced it was buying properties in the borough and leasing them to the authority.

Phi was founded in 2014 by brothers Omar and Ryan Al-Hasso. The two remain at the helm of the company as managing director and operations director respectively.

The brothers have a checkered history in the housing investment market.

In 2011 Omar Al-Hasso set up a housing association called First Priority and then set up lease deals with another company, Henley Healthcare Investments (HHI), which Mr Al-Hasso had also set up.

First Priority grew quickly, acquiring homes through investment from HHI, which pumped in loans of at least £4 million. However, First Priority then ran into financial trouble and housing and financial regulators stepped in.

Many of its tenants, often with physical and learning disabilities, were put through a tortuous period when it looked like they might lose their homes.

First Priority did survive after a 'pathway to compliance' plan was set up by regulators.

Iain Sim became chair of First Priority in January 2019 and described the progress of the company's restructuring as like ''night and day'.

He said: "Financially we're more sustainable. We have a better relationship with the regulator. And there are no conflicts of interest, which was previously an issue."

First Priority owed a significant debt to a company called Topland Henley Healthcare Investments Limited - debts which have now been settled.

Topland Henley Healthcare shares the same correspondence address as Topland Olympus Ltd - and shares a number of the same directors. The over-arching Topland Group is also based at the same address.

The Topland Group also has a past that has courted controversy. It was founded by billionaire Israeli-born brothers Sol and Eddie Zakay who built a property business empire in the eighties.

In 2010 Topland was accused by then Labour-led government of deceit and bribery over an alleged property scam that cost the public purse more than £20m.

The Ministry of Justice sued the Topland Group, claiming that the firm conspired with a property agent in 2002 to extract inflated rents on its buildings. Topland and Eddie Zakay were accused of "deceit, fraud by bribery, dishonest assistance and breach of confidence" as well as "unlawful conspiracy.

The case was lodged in May 2010 by the then justice secretary Jack Straw. In 2011, Topland made a donation of £25,000 to the Conservative party which had just started its coalition government with the Lib-Dems. The case was subsequently "settled out of court on confidential terms".

Topland survived any repercussions and has grown to become one of Europe's biggest property groups. As well as property it has branched out into investments in solar energy and natural resources - a field in which Thurrock Council has invested hundreds of millions.

The council has masked those investments in secrecy and it is not known if any of its investments are linked to Topland - though it is expected that a legal battle the council has been fighting with the nationally renowned Bureau of Investigative Journalism about having to detail all its investments has been lost. The council, which has borrowings approaching £1.5 billion, may finally have to open its books to public scrutiny in the near future.

The council has been reticent to give any details about the deal with Phi and has made no mention of Topland Olympus but housing portfolio holder Cllr Luke Spillman announced it was 'a fantastic bit of business'.

He also told Nub News: "We are working with Phi but will not release commercially sensitive contractual agreements.

"However, we are delighted that these agreements are part of a package that will save Thurrock taxpayers £1.495m a year, previously spent on expensive nightly-let privately rented emergency accommodation.

"In addition, this package will deliver many more in-borough temporary accommodation placements that we have previously been able to offer."

Advisors to Phi when the deal was being brokered were international law firm Trowers and Hamlins who reported on its website: "The unique arrangement will see Phi identify properties in Thurrock that meet the council's housing needs. Once approved by Thurrock Council, the properties will be acquired using private equity funding from Topland Group and shall be leased to the council for immediate occupation by those in need in Thurrock. The council will then own the properties outright at the end of each lease."

No details about the length of leases have been given.

Phi has issued periodic statements announcing the purchase of properties for Thurrock Council's use – by the end of the year that number is believed to be 160 at least.

In June Phi announced it had procured 115 homes for Thurrock Council and in December announced another six had been obtained, with 'three more to come next week'.

In a new year message on one of its social media sites Phi Capital said: "Well what a year 2021 was... despite the adversity we all experienced this year, we are proud to have helped over 100 families move into new affordable homes this year.

"We also invested over £1m renovating the majority of those homes to meet Net-Carbon Zero criteria.

"More to do in 2022. We are looking forward to making an even bigger impact next year."

Phi is also advertising to recruit plumbers, electricians, carpenters and other tradespeople in the borough to work on its properties.

On the face of it, the bullish, upbeat expectations of Cllr Spillman appear to be met.

But the question remains, at what cost?

No details of the deal struck with Phi are in the public domain and the length of the contract is unknown. Nor, it appears, has any money changed hands between the council and Phi.

Instead the council has made payments between April and November to Topland Olympus.

Council records that have been scrutinised by Nub News show the following payments to Topland:

• November £737,213.00 Capital Schemes Acquisition of Land and Buildings £737,213.00
• October Third Party Payments Private Contractors £72,897.31
• October Capital Schemes Acquisition of Land and Buildings £134,190.00
• September Capital Schemes Acquisition of Land and Buildings £985,012.00
• August Capital Schemes Acquisition of Land and Buildings £1,082,800.00
• July Third Party Payments Private Contractors £12,159.23
• July Building Works £411,267.00
• July Topland Olympus Ltd Capital Schemes Acquisition of Land and Buildings £758,793.00
• June Topland Olympus Ltd Capital Schemes Acquisition of Land and Buildings £1,478,919.00
• April £828,329.00

Over the same period of time there is no record of payments to Phi Capital Investment Ltd.

Several days ago Thurrock Nub News offered Thurrock Council and Cllr Spillman the opportunity to opportunity to comment on the relationship between the council, Phi and Topland.

We have had no response.

Cllr Spillman made great play of the fact that the new strategy would mean many families currently being housed outside the borough would be brought 'home'.

We asked, with dozens of homes now under council management following the deal, how many families have come back to the borough?

Again, we have had no response.

Nub News editor Neil Speight said: "The continued veil of secrecy that Thurrock Council pulls over its financial affairs goes on. It makes scrutiny of the legitimacy of its dealings difficult and it certainly breaches the stated code of transparency the administration is supposed to subscribe to.

"It may well be that everything is above board and we are certainly not suggesting at this point any criminal wrong-doing. It would be impossible to make that assertion because the facts are simply buried. It's just a question of transparency.

"You can extrapolate the data in many ways and produce statements that are good or bad.

"For example, if the council keeps up the current rate of repayment to Topland over the lifetime of a deal that is ten years, the eventual cost to Thurrock residents would be around £100 million.

"We don't know how many homes that relates tobut on the figures available we can guess the council has paid to date an average of £40,600 each which – as Cllr Spillman says - is fantastic business.

"But if it is a ten year deal and the council doesn't take on any more homes, then the cost could be more than £600,000 a property which is hardly such good news.

"The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle, but that's the problem. We don't know the truth – indeed we are nowhere near knowing any aspect of the truth. Which prompts the thought 'if it's such a fantastic deal, why not?'

"And when even such a rudimentary investigation as my own throws up a historic trail of dodgy deals, financial issues and government intervention relating to those involved in the council's current dealings, plus the real lack of local accountability and transparency, it is a matter of great concern.

"When he was in opposition to the current administration, Cllr Spillman was a regular and vocal critic of it, calling for it to be held to account and describing many of its activities with words such as 'absurd' and 'shameful'. It's hard not to wonder why now, when he is at the heart of the decision-making himself the sound of silence is deafening."