It is our understanding that the industry’s lifeboat fund, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (‘FSCS’), has started to reopen claims for compensation in respect of investments in The Resort Group.
The Resort Group offered clients the opportunity to invest in holiday “hot spots” such as Cape Verde, with the promise of high returns. These investments – including those in Dunas Beach, Llana Beach, White Sands and Tortuga – were, however, far higher-risk than many investors were initially led to believe.
In April 2020, The Resort Group wrote to investors informing them of the issues affecting the scheme and its attempts to address these structural issues. These issues, coupled with the catastrophic impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry, have led to the suspension of bond yield payments which is worrying news for investors.
Reassuringly, the FSCS has indicated that investors of fractional units in The Resort Group will now have a nil valuation attributed to their investment. The FSCS is also utilising independent valuations to ascertain whether investors with full ownership of units in The Resort Group are similarly entitled to compensation. Consequently, investors yet to make a claim or those who have previously received an interim award of compensation below the £50,000 or £85,000 FSCS limit (depending on when the advising firm went into default), can now look to recover their losses.
Were you advised to invest in The Resort Group?
Our Financial Mis-Selling team represent Resort Group investors who were not made aware of the high risk and speculative nature of the investment. Many of the individuals who have made claims relating to the Resort Group used a Self-Invested Personal Pension (‘SIPP’) to hold the investment. SIPP providers including Guinness Mahon, Lifetime, GPC, Berkeley Burke and Rowanmoor are all understood to have all allowed Resort Group investments to be held in their clients’ SIPPs.
