HUDDERSFIELD'S MP has called for a Commons debate on the business affairs of two brothers whose company collects ground rents from thousands of people in the town.

Labour's Barry Sheerman said MPs should look into the companies owned by multi-millionaire Iranian- born entrepreneurs Robert and Vincent Tchenguiz.

The companies include Estates and Management, which collects ground rents in Huddersfield.

The MP said he wanted to "find out exactly who owns it, where it's owned and how it conducts its business".

Mr Sheerman said: "We know them well in the North of England because they run something called the Estates and Management Group.

"It gives a very tough time to elderly and vulnerable leaseholders in many northern towns, using all sorts of strategies to extract money.

"They also have a corporate structure that the House of Commons library describes not as just a chain of companies but a spaghetti of companies registered in the Virgin Islands, in the Bahamas and elsewhere."

Estates and Management owns the freehold of thousands of properties in Huddersfield, collecting a small annual ground rent for each.

Bosses came under fire this year for imposing late-payment surcharges.

Dozens of people complained about demands for £20 on top of the yearly bills, which Estates and Management claimed were overdue.

Protesters said they never received bills in the first place.

Mr Sheerman said at the time that he had had more letters and emails on the issue than anything else.

He said the company "is now involved in a major takeover of a restaurant and pub chain".