Forum Topic

London Centric on the Ealing Project

This is a very interesting article about Preston Benson the man behind the Ealing Project which shows how it was just part of a broader network. Although it doesn't portray the man as an out and out villain, he does seem to have treated paying invoices as optional. I know one person locally who has been hit hard by not getting what they are owed from him. On the other hand, it was a brave venture which offered something really valuable to the community when it was open. The Picturehouse is something of a compensation but I'd have chosen to keep the Ealing Project over it. https://www.londoncentric.media/p/preston-benson-really-local-group-cinemas-london

Gordon Southwell ● 29d7 Comments

People saying they have read the article may well have done so but they seemed to have missed the real story. An impressive bit of investigative journalism has highlighted the way in which suppliers and other counterparties have become victims of Preston Benson's over ambition. However he is not a crook and he himself had to write off loans he made into the individual companies which went under including the Ealing Project. If he was syphoning off money, do you not think this would have been covered in the article. The reality was that there was no money to purloin as generally he had negotiated cheap or discounted access to underused public spaces to convert into community venues. He is not the hero he likes to portray himself as and I can understand why the people that he didn't pay are furious with him but the company structure has protected some of the remaining venues which continue to operate.

Gordon Southwell ● 15d

LBE under Liebore are financial imbeciles, we see and suffer from this time and time and time again.Makes you wonder why Developers et al always "Win" whilst the Residents and Council Taxpayers "Lose."EVERY time.You'd think there was vested interests, influenced/incentivised decisions, petty politics, etc at play.Wouldn't you?  😂

Rosco White ● 20d

The bigger mischief has happened with the abandoned development at Dean Gardens, where the developer Henry Construction went into liquidation a couple of years ago. Strsngeky itvpaid a dividend of £10million to the mother of the chief executive not long before, then went bust with debts of £30million.The geniuses at Ealing council had committed £40million of our money to Henry for this project, which will now see the half built homes demolished further cost to Ealing taxpayers.A bit of due diligence would have shown that Henry’s management team had a history of such defaults, yet still creamed off money for themselves.

Simon Hayes ● 20d

Quite. It isn't necessarily a matter of criminal fraud; directors will legally pay themselves substantial salaries and take dividends early (before the business has made an operating profit) to make a nice little pile with very little risk. Immoral probably but perfectly legal. It makes one wonder what sort of agreements the various council entered into and how - if at all - they sought to protect their financial interest.

Vlod Barchuk ● 21d

I did read the article.My very valid questions still stand, can you or anyone else answer them?

Rosco White ● 21d

Read the article. Although Preston Benson comes in for some harsh criticism, it is never suggested that the operations failed because he was fraudulently siphoning money out of the companies. Rather it looks like another example of a great salesman making promises he didn't have the capacity to deliver.

Gordon Southwell ● 22d

Finding out what Mr Benson pays/paid himself, his Benefits, his Reimbursed Expenses, any Shareholdings & Dividends and any Other Financial Instruments he is involved in I have a feeling would shed a very clarifying light?

Rosco White ● 29d