Entrepreneur fails to stop Chesterton asset sales

Mohammad Jafari-Fini, the Iranian property entrepreneur, failed yesterday in an attempt to block the sale of key assets of Chesterton, the estate agent which went into receivership this week.

Grant Thornton, which is acting as receivers for Chesterton, completed the sale of its residential property business to a private equity vehicle, CIC International, after a High Court hearing at which Mr Jafari-Fini had sought an injunction to prevent the sale going ahead.

It is understood that the division was sold for less than £1m. Industry sources believe Vincent Tchenguiz, the property tycoon, was involved in the bid. Sixteen offices are involved in the sale, employing about 200 people.

The sale of the residential business follows the disposal of Chesterton's commercial property division, a move that could secure a further 120 jobs. Atisreal UK, a subsidiary of the French banking group BNP Paribas, has bought five of Chesterton's offices - in the City of London, Southampton, Cardiff, Newcastle and Leeds. These have about 120 staff. Some 300 of Chesterton's former 700 staff have already been made redundant.

Mr Jafari-Fini, who led a takeover of Chesterton in 2003, went to the High Court to seek an injunction against the break-up of the company. He has since left Chesterton and is in a legal dispute with Resurge, an investment company led by Jonathan Rowland, which helped finance his takeover of Chesterton.

Mr Jafari-Fini said yesterday he brought the action because "I believed the receivers were selling off the assets at a price that undervalues them".