By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A 765-unit Blake Road storage facility has been reclaimed by its owner over fears it was about to be seized and auctioned-off to recover $1.165m in unpaid real property taxes.

Justice Camille Darville-Gomez, in a July 16, 2025, verdict ordered that Mogul Trading Ltd, whose principals include Lyford Cay philanthropist and investor, Philippe Bonnefoy, receive “immediate possession” of the 3.543-acre site amid accusations of “sabotage, delay and deception”.

She also ruled that Store Away Ltd, which had been operating the storage facility for more than 27 years as Mogul Trading’s tenant, had been in “unlawful occupation” of the 3.543-acre site since May 6, 2025 - the date when the deal was terminated via a second demand letter.

Legal documents obtained by Tribune Business detail a variety of concerns raised by Mogul Trading over Store Away’s management of the storage facility, which operated under the latter’s name. A February 10, 2023, letter issued by Adrian White, the St Anne’s MP who was Mogul Trading’s then-attorney, alleged that Store Away Ltd owed his client $520,000 in unpaid rent arrears dating from January 1, 2022.

Other frustrations emerged over the alleged failure by Store Away’s principals, Larry Ferguson and his wife, Brenda, to close the sale of the Blake Road property with various potential buyers between 2017 and 2021. Mogul Trading Ltd and its directors claim the failed sales efforts were really a strategy for Mr Ferguson, his wife and Store Away “to prolong control” and ensure they retained the rent and profits.

The Supreme Court filings also contained previous Tribune Business reports detailing how Mr Ferguson suffered two recent legal defeats in his battle with Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) after it refused to clear a $22.11m investment in his aragonite export venture by a Slovakian citizen he had never met. He was also contractor for the Gladstone Road wastewater plant that suffered major cost overruns.

This newspaper’s contacts, meanwhile, revealed that Mr Bonnefoy and Mogul Trading Ltd have wasted no time in reclaiming control at Blake Road and changing both staff and management. One of the 700 existing tenants, speaking on condition of anonymity, told this newspaper that the storage facility’s name has also been changed from Store Away to Blake Road Storage.

“They’ve fired all the staff and changed the name,” they disclosed. “What they were telling me was Bonnefoy had stepped in, and the real owner had stepped back in to take possession of his property. Instead of it being called Store Away they’ve now called it Blake Road storage.

“They’ve issued me a new contract and I’ve started paying rent to them. I went in there before the weekend and they said ‘new management, new system’, this, that and the other. I have to pay my money into an account with this real estate company run by a German woman.”

Justice Darville-Gomez, in her capacity as the duty judge over the Independence holiday weekend, recalled that Store Away Ltd was initially granted a ten-year lease over the Blake Road property on March 1, 1998. It expired on February 28, 2008, and was not renewed or extended.

Store Away Ltd, though, “remained in occupation with the claimant’s tolerance, and the parties operated under a de facto arrangement” that Mogul Trading Ltd argued amounted to a tenancy-at-will. It terminated the arrangement via two demand letters, issued on April 22, 2025, and May 6, 2025, and sought a speedy Supreme Court hearing on its application for “immediate possession”.

The “urgency” for this was that “the Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) has issued a notice indicating that the subject property may be subjected to public auction due to unpaid taxes. The continued occupation by the defendant obstructs the claimant’s ability to resolve tax arrears and jeopardises the claimant’s proprietary interest in the subject property.

“The threatened auction by DIR constitutes an immediate and irreparable risk of loss to the claimant if possession is not obtained forthwith.” A February 11, 2025, tax certificate issued by the Bahamian tax authority showed unpaid real property taxes dating back 11 years to 2014, with annual arrears ranging from $58,077 to $130,445, for a total $1.166m due to the Public Treasury.

Mogul Trading Ltd, in its statement of claim, asserted that Store Away Ltd had been allowed to occupy the premises but without a fixed term “or legal entitlement to remain” - meaning its tenancy could be revoked at any time. It alleged that it was “in material breach of its obligations” due to the failure to pay both taxes and rent - the latter calculated at 90 percent of gross turnover.

Operational and financial data, necessary to determine the accuracy of the gross turnover, was also purportedly not provided to the landlord. “The claimant has issued multiple demands requesting compliance, financial disclosure and payment. These have been ignored or refused by the defendant,” Mogul Trading Ltd alleged.

Store Away Ltd, in its defence, asserted that Mr Ferguson only became its beneficial owner after the original lease expired in 2008. It added that he “entered into a verbal agreement with the claimant” to pay a monthly rent of $10,000 thereafter, but suffered a stroke in 2017 and “his health deteriorated drastically late last year” to the extent he has been “in and out of hospital” and inactive with Store Away Ltd.

Don Johnson, Store Away Ltd’s accountant, conceded in an affidavit that Store Away Ltd “has a right to vacant possession” but urged the Supreme Court to “permit a reasonable period” to notify clients and find an alternative location for store their possessions.

“There currently exists no property that is outfitted with storage units that can meet the requirements of the defendant to operate its business efficiently,” he alleged. “Therefore, in order for the defendant to continue operating a large tract of land would have to be purchased or leased and a storage facility would have to be designed and constructed.

“This process involves a number of steps, including but not limited to engaging an architect to draw plans, obtaining the necessary permits and approvals, securing adequate financing and obtaining the requisite insurances.

“Vacating the premises without the defendant having the opportunity or a reasonable time to source an alternative arrangement would, in essence, close the business down,” Mr Johnson added. “We would be liable to customers who have already pre-paid for the space, we have no ability to secure their belongings and we would have to terminate all the employees.

“The impact on the defendant is draconian, and thus we are asking the court to be considerate of the technical nature of our business and proceed cautiously so as to minimise the irreparable damages that can result from a sudden departure.”

Mr Johnson added that 700 of the 765 units are currently leased, with some tenants having paid for a year or six months in advance, and others on a month-to-month. He argued that the storage facility’s layout, with just one entrance that is also used for an exit, meant it restricted visitors to three vehicles at a time to prevent “a blockage of traffic on Blake Road”.

“Therefore, it is impossible to have 700 tenants evicted simultaneously as those would create chaos,” Mr Johnson asserted. “The process of evicting each tenant would have to be done on a staggered basis perhaps by sections to avoid congestion within the property and on the main Blake Road...

“While we accept that the claimant has a right to vacant possession we are appealing to the court to provide a reasonable period to provide the contractual notice to terminate each lease, provide an opportunity for the tenants to retrieve their possessions and seek an alternative and suitable location to operate its business.”

However, Madeliene Todd, a Mogul Trading Ltd director, countered by alleging that the Fergusons’ actions “show a pattern of sabotage, delay and deception amongst other accusations”. Her June 26, 2025, affidavit alleged that the owner/landlord had been “exposed” by the “amassing of over $1.165m in unpaid real property taxes”.

“From 2019 onward, Mr Ferguson assured us that a buyer for the property existed and was ready to close. On multiple occasions, including on the very day a sale contract was to be executed, Mr Ferguson personally intervened to halt closings, stating that he had a superior buyer who would complete within weeks. No such buyer ever materialised,” Ms Todd claimed.

“A demand for outstanding rent in the sum of $520,000 was issued by White Law Chambers on February 10, 2023. The license (sic, lease) was formally revoked on 22 April 2025, by service of a Notice to Quit..... Instead of vacating and being co-operative, the Fergusons have entrenched themselves, refused to disclose financial records and continued their operations with impunity.

“While Store Away operated profitably from the premises, the tax obligations fell upon Mogul, the registered owner. This dereliction has not only placed Mogul at risk but also deprived the Treasury of The Bahamas of substantial revenue.” The demand for the alleged unpaid rent was sent to Store Away’s then-attorney, Andrew Edwards, at Davis & Co.

Other documents filed with the Supreme Court reveal that a $6m offer was made to acquire Store Away on November 11, 2017, by James Allan “or his assigns”. That was purportedly from a Canadian investment firm that specialised in the purchase of storage facilities, and which was represented by Gregory Graham of Graham Real Estate.

Ms Todd alleged that funds for the purchase had been lodged in escrow with the Graham, Thompson & Company law firm, adding: “Three principals of the buyer group flew to Nassau for signing. At the last moment, Mr Ferguson refused to sign, claiming he had a better deal with Hemingway Properties, which would supposedly close in a matter of days.

“Hemingway Properties never closed. No funds or contracts ever materialised. This was part of a pattern. Each time a legitimate buyer emerged, Mr Ferguson would tout a ‘better deal’ with his own preferred group, which would conveniently evaporate once the threat of a real closing passed.” Hemingway Properties’ director was named in the documents as Taran Mackey.

Ms Todd added that Store Away Ltd’s audited financial statements for 2021 and 2023 showed that, despite generating annual gross income of between $1.48m-$1.55m, it was suffering from “declining or negative net income” despite no rent or property tax being paid. Profits fell from $283,312 in 2020 to $56,202 in 2021, then to just $5,244 for 2022 and a $30,603 loss in 2023.

She noted, though, that over the same period the compensation paid to directors - including Mr Ferguson - had jumped from $463,406 in 2020 to $664,812 in 2021, and then to $837,874 and $855,043 for 2022 and 2023. And, while Mr Johnson had called for more time to vacate, Ms Todd noted that its financials showed it had invested $1.875m in 2008 to acquire a ten-acre Freeport site for a storage facility.

“This land has been held for over a decade. To now claim hardship in my opinion is disingenuous and deceptive,” she alleged. Justice Darville-Gomez noted this contradiction, as well as Mogul Trading Ltd’s argument that Store Away Ltd had admitted in its own evidence that it was merely a tenant-at-will and the landlord had lawfully terminated its occupation.

The judge, in her verdict, noted that Store Away Ltd did not deny there were rental or tax arrears, while also failing to challenge that the Mogul Trading Ltd’s ownership or that the lease had expired. And she found that Store Away Ltd’s request for time “to wind down its operations” and construct an alternative storage facility is “unrealistic and unfeasible”.

“The defendant ought to have given its sub-tenants notice either in April 2025 or May 2025 after receipt of the demand letters from the claimant,” Justice Darville-Gomez ruled. “However, the defendant chose to continue in occupation without giving the 30-day notice which Mr Johnson explained is the period required in the agreement, or without complying with the requests for the production of the requested documentation.

“The defendant has failed to demonstrate to this court any attempt to comply with the production requests so that the claimant could ameliorate its position with the Department of Inland Revenue. Consequently, the claimant is now faced with possible penalties from the Department of Inland Revenue including the sale of the property by auction as a result of unpaid taxes.

“The defendant’s operational concerns cannot override the claimant’s proprietary rights, especially where the defendant continued to collect payments from licensees while failing to remit rent to the claimant. The defendant has benefited from extended possession and failed to discharge financial obligations or produce requested documentation. No further delay is justifiable.”

Besides ordering that Mogul Trading Ltd be given “immediate possession”, Justice Darville-Gomez also ordered that Store Away Ltd provide profit and loss statements for 2023 and 2024; VAT returns for 2023, 2024 and the 2025 first quarter; the most recent rent roll; utility bills for the past year; and the most recent real property tax bill and notices of unpaid taxes; plus copies of current storage rental deals.

Ashley Williams represented Mogul Trading Ltd, while Donovan Gibson of Munroe & Associates acted for Store Away Ltd.