ANGRY business owners at an exclusive Marbella shopping centre have accused its millionaire owner of threats and harassment after he demanded extra payments on top of their rent.
A dozen tenants at upmarket venue Forum allege Norwegian tycoon John Brendmoe threatened to ‘make their lives impossible’.
The expat businessman behind property company Antima also insisted he would ‘throw them out’ unless they paid ‘substantial’ additional sums.
The shocking allegations, revealed by Norwegian magazine Kapital, have prompted the businesses to join forces against the entrepreneur.
They have now threatened to launch their own legal action unless the alleged harassment stops.
In a four-page legal letter, the tenants claim Brendmoe initially approached them individually before the dispute escalated.
On one occasion, Brendmoe allegedly said he ‘would use all his money to fuck them over and throw them out of the premises’ unless they complied with his demands, Kapital reported, citing the letter.
According to Kapital, the pattern of alleged intimidation includes Brendmoe threatening other business partners by boasting of links to criminal circles.
The magazine said it had spoken to around 10 sources who ‘wanted to speak publicly but feared potential retaliation’.
Brendmoe, 63, categorically denies all the allegations, including having links to criminal circles or threatening anyone with such connections.
The dispute with Forum’s tenants is just one of several controversies surrounding the lifestyle, shopping and dining complex, which opened in 2024 on the upmarket Golden Mile, opposite the Puente Romano hotel.
According to Kapital, the centre has struggled to succeed and was forced to take out a €15 million loan at an eye-watering 17% interest rate.
Brendmoe declined to comment on the loan and disputes the tenants’ account, insisting Forum Marbella has welcomed more than 1.5 million visitors since opening.
‘I feel that we have a very, very good and solid relationship with all the tenants,’ he told Kapital.
More controversy arrived when it emerged that a sanctioned Russian oligarch and former wife of Vladimir Putin ally Igor Sechin, owns two commercial units accounting for around 10% of Forum Marbella’s property.
Both units owned by Marina Sechina were frozen by Spanish authorities as part of an investigation into suspected attempts to circumvent EU sanctions, El Pais reported in March last year.
Brendmoe denies any partnership with Sechina, claiming an agreement to purchase her units was signed before sanctions were imposed in 2022, but was never finalised. Marbella-based technology firm LunaGroup meanwhile reportedly invested €10 million for a 50% stake, after which €5 million was used to pay off part of the previous loan.
Approached by The Olive Press, LunaGroup boss Daniel Bach declined to comment.
Brendmoe made his fortune in the painting business before moving into luxury property.
He is the founder of Antima, a family-run group operating between Marbella and Oslo that has branched out into real estate development, retail, and entertainment, according to its website.
After ‘flipping’ over 60 high value homes in Marbella, it is reportedly now worth around €500 million.
Despite various emails and calls, neither Brendmoe or Antima replied.
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