£19m worth of Pensions from 476 people lost though two schemes – Pennines and Mendip.
Pennines and Mendip: Hedge Capital Investments Ltd, Hedge Capital Investment Group Plc and Hedge Capital Ltd were introducers or the financial advisers who proposed the schemes Pennines and Mendip as suitable schemes for 476. The end result was that £19m was invested in Pennines and Mendip. That is an average pension pot of about £40K; a considerable life savings that most people would not throw away lightly. They invested in schemes that they were told were reliable and profitable. It turns out they were nothing like this and the investments are now either locked or lost. There will also be considerable tax to be paid as a result of this abuse of pension liberation.
The registration of the schemes:
Pennines Scheme was registered with HMRC on 22 August 2011 as an occupational pension scheme governed by a trust deed dated 23 August 2011 executed with Clarendon Hill Investments Limited which is referred to as “the
Provider” and the Trustees of the Scheme, John Laurence
Woodward and Jennifer Doris Ilett
Pennines Scheme was registered with the Regulator on 31 August 2011 as a 9 member defined contribution scheme while the scheme received payments of £3,950,193.78, made up of almost entirely what appear to be transfers in from other pension schemes, of which £3,825,346 (almost 97%) has been transferred out to an entity called “Hedge Capital Investments Limited”
Mendip Scheme was registered with HMRC on 9 September 2011 as an occupational pension scheme governed by a trust deed dated 9 September 2011. The Mendip Scheme was registered with the Regulator on 28 September 2011 the Scheme received payments in of £3,280,325.27, made up of almost entirely what appear to be transfers in from other pension schemes, of which £2,965,701.82 (90%) has been transferred to an entity or entities that are referenced in the accounts as “H Capital I” and “Hedge Capital”
Malvern Scheme
Malvern Scheme was registered with HMRC on 13 December 2011. The scheme was registered with HMRC being established by Clarendon Hill as “Provider“. Eventually with considerable investigation the Pensions Regulator found serious grounds to believe that the Schemes are being used as vehicles for pension liberation.
Pennines and Mendip Schemes have the same sponsoring employer, which is registered as a dormant, non-trading company. Between September 2011 and
January 2012, the Pennines and Mendip Schemes received approximately 140 transfers into the schemes to the value of over £7,000,000.00
Some members may be transferring into the Pennines and Mendip Schemes, and possibly the Malvern Scheme, with a view to receiving a lump sum payment or “loan”, calculated as a percentage of the transfer value of their pension “pot”
It also appears that some members who are receiving a “loan” are also paying interest on that loan back to the loan company.
Dalriada trustees appointed on the 28th March 2012. They froze the assets of these schemes. They also declared that the expenses of the schemes subsequent to this date would be taken from the scheme assets.
Pension Life work at exposing, preventing and for the main part aiding those that have been affected by these fraudulent schemes. Please make contact.
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