Commercial Unit - Landlord Disposed of Stock Now Ignoring me.

[lomaximus1]

Hi all, I need a bit of advice. Quick background. Lease was in my personal name stock inside the unit is owned by Ltd company I am director of. I have been seriously ill for the past 18 months. While now I am hopefully in remission it has been a struggle to get back on my feet. Cash funds ran out back in May and in total I accrued £2k of arrears in rent on a unit storing the companies stock. While I have been in touch with the landlord during this period and offered some deals of remuneration he has actively ignored my requests to the point that he eventually locked me out of the unit back in the beginning of September. No court or official notice given he just entered and changed the locks. I made him aware of the stock value (over £400k on the stock sheet but not actual value as I had personal items in there too and items that were not entered into inventory) pre lock change I tried to offer a deal in exchange for the sale of some stock to cover me while I am not working. Within a day of lock change the stock was being emptied by a local competitor (rumor has it sold for a substantial amount but a fraction of the actual value of the stock). (Neighbours have video and pictures of this happening with the competitors van logo on the vans). I attempted to contact the landlord and discuss but he became aggressive. I have sent him several emails asking for a breakdown on what he has disposed of, if I can collect my personal items, how much has he sold my stock to the competitor for etc... Last email I gave him 28 days to respond before I would take it further. All emails have been ignored, 28days has now elapsed. He has been quite defamatory about me to the neighbors and also he has actively sort out some of my clients, colleagues and friends. Some real tall tales as well. While I appreciate he is angry about me being behind on rent I have actively attempted to mitigate his losses throughout. While I have very little in cash funds at this stage I do own a few assets that I can sell over the next month that could possibly raise 20k to cover legal fees to chase him for the value of the stock minus his costs.
So.... in summation before I sell my assets and seek full legal help. (I literally cannot afford to employ a solicitor as of today hence why I am asking for help on here) I feel, legally, I need to send him an invoice or something for the total amount of stock losses due to his actions as the 28 day period I gave him has elapsed. Can someone help me with a quick email I can send to the landlord that will buy me the time while I gather together the money to pay a legal team to help.

Thanks in advance

William