Wealthy property investor handed £8,000 bill for parking fraud

Julian Grenfell King lives in a nine-bedroom detached house. He is trying to sell it or nearly £4 million, more than twice the amount he paid for it.

Ironically, the 43-year-old company director makes a living out of a business that seeks to buy properties - at below the market price - from home-owners desperate to sell.

You may have seen him around the city, parking a Porsche here, and a Bentley there. Not to mention the Range Rover, the Mercedes, the Audi, and the BMWs.

For five years, on at least 45 occasions, King - a director of National Homebuyers, based in Burgess Hill - was guilty of flouting parking restrictions on an unprecedented scale.

Repeatedly, he parked numerous vehicles knowing their registrations could not be linked to him. The good news is that he got caught. Eventually.

At Brighton Magistrates' Court, King was convicted of defrauding Brighton and Hove City Council by parking in resident-permit bays, loading bays, and on double yellow lines dishonestly - knowing that the registration plates displayed on the vehicles could not be traced back to him through the council's parking enforcement enquiries.

A number of licence plates owned by King - of Withdean Road, Brighton - have been revoked by the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency.

He was fined £3,870 and costs of £2,000; compensation was ordered to Brighton City Council of £2,000; and there was a victim surcharge imposed of £120.

That's a total of £7,990 - or the equivalent of parking a car in Regency Square car park, and never moving it, for 16 months.

On the face of it, it might seem Mr King can afford it.

According to Companies House records, he is currently a director of 11 companies - including Momentum Asset Management, which is involved in buying and selling real estate and which trades as National Homebuyers (www.nationalhomebuyers.co.uk).

The latest accounts, however, report that Momentum Asset Management has total liabilities of £993,342 and net assets of -£840,854.

Yesterday (Thursday), Sussex Police issued a statement about King's court appearance on July 27.

In it, PC Mark Bassett said: "While the offences in this case did stretch back over a number of years, when they came to light we were able to find the evidence we needed to bring about this successful prosecution.

"This wasn't a case of someone trying to get away with a quick stop somewhere they shouldn't or spending a little too long shopping. This was calculated fraud, pure and simple, and it has been rightfully punished."

Later, when Brighton and Hove Independent spoke to a woman via the intercom at King's gated home '“ complete with swimming pool, sauna, and Jacuzzi '“ our reporter was told he would be back at 6.30pm. Unfortunately, he did not make contact by telephone or email.

The King family home, however, remains on the market at £3.85 million. Just be aware that King paid £1.68 million for it in October 2005. So don't be embarrassed about offering below the market rate.