Forestry investment -- The Premier Irish Forestry Fund

Same as Maeve in the last post. I did however manage to speak with them in PIFF today and they said all was going fine with the investment and that I would get a copy of the accounts to my email. I will update the post when they arrive.
 
I'm coming to this thread late in the day but just to update you that I made attempts to contact PIFFS, Mocklershill - before Christmas 2022 by registered post. No reply was forthcoming (and no reply either to a previous registered letter) . In January I wrote to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement to complain but was told that they only deal with suspected breaches of company law. I replied that I thought this was a breach of company law but received no further reply from ODCE. PIFFS has resumed filing returns with the CRO (latest accounts y/e 31/12/2020 that I'm aware of). They're the facts that I have.
 
Hi all, I too am coming to this very late in the day not realising there was a forum where others have the same story as myself to tell. I invested with this same company in Aug 1999, received a certificate, and did not hear from them until I contacted their offices in 2006 requesting previous years financial statements, following this I received financial statements in the post from them for years ending Dec 2002 and 2003, since then I have tried to contact their offices but have not had any success. I would be grateful if anyone could let me know if they have succeeded in having their investment funds returned or other?
 
RDuffy said:
Same as Maeve in the last post. I did however manage to speak with them in PIFF today and they said all was going fine with the investment and that I would get a copy of the accounts to my email. I will update the post when they arrive.
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did you ever get the accounts they promised you?
 
Hi, I am late to this as well Bought one share for 1000 euros in 1999. Not one communication from them since. Email and phone No get no response. Any other ideas?
 
I bought 2 shares in this fund on the 9th May 2000 for £2000 (euro wasnt introduced until 2002). Like others any communication has been all one way, and although promised, accounts information has been sporadic. Definitely not the way any investment fund should be run.!
I called the original solictor for PIFF's today, Oliver Ryan Purcell, as he had given me contact numbers both for Paul Bowes and Paddy Anglim in the past. He got me in touch with Paul Bowes who again promised 2021 accounts over the next few days. According to Paul Bowes all is fine with the PIFF and 2022 accounts will be available by the end of October.
If I receive 2021 accounts I will post here, in the meantime perhaps a group of investors could get together and try get to the bottom of this..
This fund is meant to mature in 2030...
 
I also invested £1,000 (punts) in 1999. I have unsuccessfully got a response from emails sent to premier irish forestry funds - info@piffs.com.
I’d be happy to be part of an investor group to take action to get information about our investment or better still, get a refund or a pay out of whatever the investment has realised.
 
I am interested in hearing from anyone who wants to try get a group together on this.
 
The 2022 accounts have been filed with the Companies Office. The auditor (Susan Morrissey, Chartered Accountants, Cashel) has given a clean audit report saying that the company is operating on a going concern basis. There's no details of where the location(s) of the forest is. I did not receive any accounts or audit reports for 2022 or for any year going as far back as I can remember. If the 2022 accounts have been filed that implies that 2021, 2020 and previous years must be in order. There have been no communications whatsoever from the Directors that they are filing these reports. It demonstrates a total disregard for the shareholders. The Directors are filing theses accounts to comply with the Companies' Acts; obviously the investors' monies is not theirs but belongs to the company and this is what they must do. As per an earlier posting I made a complaint to the Competition Authority (CCPC) who are responsible for investigating breaches of company law. I have also sent the current auditor an email about all this, asking her for her comments. Sin é é.
 
Dáithí Butler said:
The 2022 accounts have been filed with the Companies Office. The auditor (Susan Morrissey, Chartered Accountants, Cashel) has given a clean audit report saying that the company is operating on a going concern basis. There's no details of where the location(s) of the forest is. I did not receive any accounts or audit reports for 2022 or for any year going as far back as I can remember. If the 2022 accounts have been filed that implies that 2021, 2020 and previous years must be in order. There have been no communications whatsoever from the Directors that they are filing these reports. It demonstrates a total disregard for the shareholders. The Directors are filing theses accounts to comply with the Companies' Acts; obviously the investors' monies is not theirs but belongs to the company and this is what they must do. As per an earlier posting I made a complaint to the Competition Authority (CCPC) who are responsible for investigating breaches of company law. I have also sent the current auditor an email about all this, asking her for her comments. Sin é é.
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Are you shareholders or is it another type of investment? If you are shareholders, can't you get into the AGM?
 
Dáithí Butler said:
The 2022 accounts have been filed with the Companies Office. The auditor (Susan Morrissey, Chartered Accountants, Cashel) has given a clean audit report saying that the company is operating on a going concern basis. There's no details of where the location(s) of the forest is. I did not receive any accounts or audit reports for 2022 or for any year going as far back as I can remember. If the 2022 accounts have been filed that implies that 2021, 2020 and previous years must be in order. There have been no communications whatsoever from the Directors that they are filing these reports. It demonstrates a total disregard for the shareholders. The Directors are filing theses accounts to comply with the Companies' Acts; obviously the investors' monies is not theirs but belongs to the company and this is what they must do. As per an earlier posting I made a complaint to the Competition Authority (CCPC) who are responsible for investigating breaches of company law. I have also sent the current auditor an email about all this, asking her for her comments. Sin é é.
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Di please if you can enlighten us all if you hear back from the auditor.
 
Dáithí Butler said:
The 2022 accounts have been filed with the Companies Office. The auditor (Susan Morrissey, Chartered Accountants, Cashel) has given a clean audit report saying that the company is operating on a going concern basis. There's no details of where the location(s) of the forest is. I did not receive any accounts or audit reports for 2022 or for any year going as far back as I can remember. If the 2022 accounts have been filed that implies that 2021, 2020 and previous years must be in order. There have been no communications whatsoever from the Directors that they are filing these reports. It demonstrates a total disregard for the shareholders. The Directors are filing theses accounts to comply with the Companies' Acts; obviously the investors' monies is not theirs but belongs to the company and this is what they must do. As per an earlier posting I made a complaint to the Competition Authority (CCPC) who are responsible for investigating breaches of company law. I have also sent the current auditor an email about all this, asking her for her comments. Sin é é.
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What are your specific grievances?

Forestry is a very boring, very long term investment.

You basically buy land, you plant trees on it, you manage it reasonably intensively for 4 years until they're safely established and growing, you normally collect a state subsidy for a number of years to cover most or all of the costs of doing so, and then you sit back for 35 years and wait for it to mature.

Then the trees are harvested, and you get big money for selling the proceeds. You enjoy that windfall tax free, you have to reinvest a small element of it back into growing a new generation of trees on the land and the cycle continues.

The proliferation of forestry funds that popped up at various stages of the boom were always a bit odd in that they were predicated on an assumption that the funds would sell up after 20 years and generate a return to the investors.

The problem with that model was and is the fact that it's always hard to sell a semi-mature forest unless the underlying land has some other value for development or amenity purposes.

Basically only those with the deepest pockets can afford to buy an unsubsidised asset that will barely raise a red cent in net income for 15 to 20 years from the date of investment. So if you decide to sell up after 20 years you will struggle first to find a buyer and secondly to achieve a price that exceeds the original cost of buying the land. So it's a very bad idea to sell at that stage.

On top of that, most if not all of the forestry funds which were marketed back then did not sell ordinary shares to investors but a class of preference shares that conferred limited or no rights to control or influence the future direction of the investee company.

All of these issues were flagged on AAM back in the day and I remember well getting flak from others for daring to raise them.
 
My specific grievance (so called) is in my post and in previous posts from other investors. It relates to the Premier Irish Forestry Fund.
 
Hi, I wrote to the ODCE when they were the ODCE but they have now become CEA (Corporate Enforcement Authority) and I wrote to them under that guise as well. No word from the Auditor. If I do hear from her I'll post the reply.
 
All,

Just found this thread today, again very similar to other investors. Bought shares in 2000, which were subsequently transferred, (only found out after much badgering by my solicitor). Lodged a complaint with OCE, no success. Company is still live according to CORE website. Office phone numbers are no longer in use. I'd be interested in keeping in touch if anyone has any success.
 
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