Polidano provides rent-free garage for woman caught up in dispute

The Polidano Group has provided Jeanette Galea with an alternative garage, rent-free for a year, after she inadvertently got caught up in a dispute involving a developer who failed to pay Polidano a debt exceeding €1 million.

Polidano General Manager Ian Napier said: “We never intended our attempts to recover our debt to have a negative effect on third parties who rented a garage from a developer who had no legal right to make such use of the property.

“As a gesture of goodwill, the Polidano Group has provided Ms Galea with another garage for her vehicle which she can enjoy rent-free for a year, while we continue with our attempts to recover a significant unpaid debt from the developer. She is very happy with the outcome and we are pleased to have been able to assist her.”

The Polidano Group was constrained to resort to blocking access to a property in Qormi developed by Acorn Properties Ltd after the owner of the property failed to settle a longstanding debt exceeding €1 million. 

Polidano was engaged as the contractor on the site several years ago. As part of the payment, the owner, Acorn Properties Ltd, agreed to transfer property to the Polidano Group but failed to fulfil its legal obligations long after construction work had been completed.

Acorn was subsequently struck off the companies register by the registrar of companies due to non filing of accounts and annual returns but continued to lease the property to third parties despite failing to settle its debts with the contractor. 

Mr Napier said: “Since Polidano is Malta’s leading contractor, certain individuals have attempted to smear our name with baseless allegations which have proved to be unfounded. We expect this campaign to continue.

“In the meantime, we have worked hard to ensure we are fully compliant with all construction and fiscal regulations and are in the process of fine-tuning the company’s operations to enable us to build on the success we’ve achieved.”