Court allows JLL to manage luxury apartments linked to Evergrande London

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A British court has given property group JLL permission to continue managing 33 London apartments owned by the ex-wife of China Evergrande’s co-founder, after her assets were frozen following the Chinese developer’s collapse. .

The US-listed group runs the logistics and management services for apartments near the river Thames on behalf of Ding Yumei, the ex-wife of property tycoon Hui Ka Yan, who has They are the richest man in China but now he is suspected of participating in “illegal crimes”. Ding himself lives in one of the luxury apartments, court records say.

Last year, judges in London and Hong Kong issued orders that froze Ding’s assets worldwide, following the appointment of financiers. refund amount for Evergrande investors. JLL told a London court that it was no longer willing to manage the property unless it was cleared to have permission, documents show, a case it has not won.

The case provides a rare opportunity for formal transactions between property groups such as JLL and wealthy overseas clients who want to keep their money in centers such as London. JLL employs more than 100,000 people worldwide in businesses ranging from property management to consulting on multi-billion dollar real estate deals.

Court filings by Evergrande’s shareholders say Ding is “among the main beneficiaries” of “what is understood to be the biggest financial fraud from China”.

JLL and Ding declined to comment.

The producers, Alvarez and Marsal’s planning experts Eddie Middleton and Tiffany Wong, were appointed last year when a Hong Kong judge ordered the liquidation of Evergrande, a listed company in the region.

They ran to lay claim to and sell goods around the world that can enable them to provide money return to the debtors. The company had more than $20bn of foreign debt when it defaulted in 2021.

Ding owns the apartments, on Carnation Way in Nine Elms, south of the Thames, through five companies registered in the British Virgin Islands, according to court records. JLL provides opening and closing services such as marketing apartments, creating lease agreements and receiving rents, reports said.

The Financial Times has identified seven properties, worth £15.6mn.

A court order issued last month says JLL can process payments to “meet the cost of insurance and the repair, replacement and/or repair of equipment and facilities only where necessary and on a ‘like- for-like’, payment of rent and service charges, and utility payments”, among others.

Ding had refused the court to issue the order, saying it was unnecessary and unfair to his position in the Hong Kong court proceedings. The winners of Evergrande supported the case of JLL, saying: “All parties in the case agree that JLL should continue to provide its services. . . to maintain the value of the property and ensure that it can continue to generate income.”

Additional reporting by Chan Ho-him and Chris Cook