Clients of a troubled property company collectively owed millions have been warned they may only get back a fraction of their money.
HMRC finally succeeded in getting a winding up order for PS&B Estate Management on its third attempt last month, more than six months after the company’s bank account was frozen.
The Brighton and Portsmouth-based company, whose sole director is Peter Hewett, 58, managed the freehold of hundreds of blocks across the south coast, for which essential bills for maintenance, utilities and insurance went unpaid for weeks.
A 58-year-old man was arrested on 14 July when the organised crime squad raided two addresses in Portsmouth.
Three days later, police were given permission by a court to hold onto cognac, coins, comics and stamps belonging to Hewett which had been seized that day.
Official receiver Lyndsey Burgess has now written to known creditors of PS&B Estate Management, telling them that the company’s bank account contain £386,173.
At one point, the company said the account, which was used to hold service charges and other funds for all its clients, held more than £7 million.
Meanwhile, the company owes HMRC £1,882,181, and that debt will take priority over other creditors.
The report says: “The official receiver is investigating various asset matters relating to this company.
“At present, there are credit balances in the company bank accounts of £386,173.23; however,
the status of these funds remains uncertain.
“There are also claims that are being received and considered at present.”
Ms Burgess said she had interviewed former director Michael Barber, who resigned in January 2026, but added: “We are still awaiting co-operation from the current director Peter John Hewett and former director Karen Baker [who resigned in March 2026].”
The South East Organised Crime Unit (Serocu) has also written this week to people who have been contact with them, warning them the investigation is likely to take several years to complete.
It also said it had secured orders against further assets – but said these could only be used to repay clients if there was a criminal conviction, the process would take five or six years, and it’s unlikely assets would be found to the value of what is owed.
Forensic accountants are being sent client accounts for an initial review, with a full review likely to take five years.
It added: “We have contacted previous staff at PS&B who are assisting us with enquiries to better understand the business.
“At this stage, we can see that property managers and the accounts team were working diligently and can see no evidence of misconduct on their behalf.”
Clients include freeholders and leaseholders who manage their own blocks of flats. The case has strengthened calls from leasehold campaigner Shula Rich for more protections for flat owners’ money.
She said: “Something has to happen and it can.
“The last Act or Parliament in 2002 for leaseholders put protection of our funds on the statute.
“In 2002, twenty four years ago, Section 156 said that all leaseholders’ funds should be kept separate from each other. No mixing of block’s accounts. It has never been commenced.
“This powerful law would have meant that Parsons and all agents could not be throwing our money into one big account
called a “trust” account. They would have to separate each blocks’ funds into their own identifiable accounts.
“All this money would not have been in one Lloyds account.
“I have written to Mathew Pennycook this week asking again for Section 156 to be commenced in this present act promised before the end of this Parliamentary session.”
Anyone who wants to register as a creditor of PS&B Estate Management should email piu.or@insolvency.gov.uk.
