Guinness Mahon Trust Corporation Limited goes into administration
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The sudden news that Guinness Mahon Trust Corporation Limited (Guinness Mahon) had gone into administration shocked the industry this week, and we believe it may be the beginning of a domino effect for other firms that have mis-sold to clients.
Background
In 2018, we were one of the first firms to take action, issuing five mis-selling cases against Guinness Mahon. Our clients claimed that the firm was working with introducers to facilitate investments into unregulated schemes.
Read more: The most commonly mis-sold types of pension
We won a decision for our clients, with payouts totalling over £100,000.
More than 4,000 clients on the firm’s books were impacted by the collapse, totalling over £300 million.
Our thoughts
Our solicitor, Glyn Taylor, said: “The news that Guinness Mahon has gone into administration has been very sudden and quick. As a result, the cases have now been passed from the FOS (Financial Ombudsman Service) to the FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) to handle.
“Guinness Mahon’s administration is similar to the high profile collapse of Berkeley Burke Sipp Administration Limited in September last year, which saw the firm place itself into liquidation, selling its remaining assets.
“Following Berkeley Burke’s decision to drop its High Court appeal case in October 2019, we predicted that we’d see more market consolidation and further SIPP providers exiting the market.
“We expected that the cancellation of the Berkeley Burke High Court appeal would set a precedent for the whole industry, and accelerate the decisions for cases such as Liberty Sipp, and introducer Avacade, and Carey Pensions.
“We believe that the Guinness Mahon administration is the beginning of a domino effect across the industry, with more firms to follow. We expect Liberty Sipp will be the next SIPP provider to go into administration, followed closely by Carey Pensions.
“It’s been a long journey for the 4,000 Guinness Mahon Trust Corporation Limited clients who were affected. APJ Solicitors has been seeking redress for 160 clients, who have had their financial security hanging in the balance for far too long.”
Guinness Mahon claims
Glyn said: “Claimants will be able to pursue their claims through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), where they will be able to potentially claim back up to £85,000.
“It’s likely that many clients will have lost more than £85,000. As a leading firm dedicated to achieving justice for our clients, we will be pursuing further litigation against Guinness Mahon’s insurers to aim for clients to get further redress.
“Clients who receive compensation from the FSCS should seek advice from a regulated IFA about their financial future and their retirement funds.”
If you need advice on your Guinness Mahon Trust Corporation Limited SIPP, please get in touch and a member of the team can help.