Pensioners who claim they have lost up to £1bn in investments protested outside the High Court yesterday (May 7) as administrators continued to try and recover their money.
Hartley Pensions collapsed in July 2022 after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) flagged serious issues including unauthorised investments of £21mn in client pension funds.
Over 17,000 pensioners have been affected and many claim they have been ruined.
Members of the Hartley Pensions Action Group (HPAG) held signs including ‘Hartley Pensions £1bn missing’ and ‘Our pensions are not dog s**t’ as the fight to follow the money continued at the Insolvency and Companies Court.
The court heard the task has been further complicated because several other companies have gone bust following the collapse of Hartley Pensions, including its parent company.
Nicholas Barnett was appointed as administrator in August 2022 but has since applied to resign from the role.
Barnett, who is a director and founder of Libertas insolvency practitioners, explained his role to the court yesterday (May 7): “We had split roles within the assignment, I didn’t pick up at the time of any context before.”
He said Quantuma LLP dealt with the winding up of the Wilton UK (Group) Ltd which had owned Hartley Pensions since 2016.
“We were dealing with Quantuma, who were doing all the financials, we were liaising tactically with the FCA,” said Barnett.
“My view is that I have looked at the witness statements and what I understand from these statements is not so much the money has not been repaid but on the source of the money.
“We were fighting fires, looking at tactics, working with Hilco, who are consultancy agents and looking to see if we could accelerate a sales process.”
He explained there are issues concerning the distribution of that money after one of the creditors, WSL-Cyan, a private limited company incorporated by Quantuma in 2019, went into administration.
Questioned by Andrew Shaw, representing the Wilton Group, Barnett confirmed he made an application to resign as the administrator.
Shaw asked: “What was on your mind at that time?
Barnett replied: “Who could justly appoint an administrator and allow me to resign from office.”
Pierre Rossier, CEO and founder of Rossier, Mari & Associates AG was director of Wilton Group, explained the investment process.
He said: “Wilton Group makes an investment through their name for a client with no risk for a client.
“I am receiving money but it is not my money and I am investing it.
“It is a short-term investment and the fees were relatively correct.
“You actually receive money and you invest in your name, so it does not figure in the accounts often, it is off the account records of the institutions.”
Hartley went into liquidation in 2022 after the FCA discovered ‘serious operational, financial and regulatory issues’ including the unauthorised transfer of millions of pounds of client funds to Wilton UK (Group).
Simon Nuttall who founded HPAG had been persuaded by a financial adviser to transfer £35,000 of his life savings to self-invested personal pension (Sipp) company Berkeley Burke in 2012.
Under the supervision of the FCA, Berkeley Burke’s book of clients was acquired by Hartley Pensions, another Sipp firm.
At an earlier hearing Nuttall said in a statement on behalf of the group: “We are wanting to go up to the Crown for further investigation, we think the Crown should be involved in this matter.
“The Hartley Pensions account has been eroded by £1bn or by 45 per cent over the years.
“There are 17,000 pensioners.
“Mr Flanagan has not explained where the money has gone.
“The pensioners want to know, where is their money?”
The hearing continues today (May 8).
Tom Masters is a freelance court reporter.
