We have decided to take no further action against Wellesley & Co Limited (WCL) after our investigation found no evidence of serious misconduct.
We announced the investigation into WCL in 2022 following Wellesley Finance Ltd (WFL), an unregulated entity, entering into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) with its creditors in October 2020. At the time of WFL’s CVA, around 12,000 investors were owed £134.7m. About £80m has been returned to investors but, unfortunately, some investors have lost all that they invested. The investigation’s focus was whether investors had been given misleading information and defrauded by WCL. It found that the risks were fairly described to investors and there were no signs of fraud.Background to the investigation WCL promoted and arranged high-risk investments that related to property development. These products were not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).WCL was responsible for approving financial promotions used to market certain products to investors. There were other unregulated companies within the Wellesley Group.The amounts returned to investors under the CVA varied according to the products held. While around 60% of the money invested has been returned, investors who received preference shares as part of the CVA lost all the money they invested. This accounts for about £10m of the total money owed to investors.On 30 April 2025, WCL entered administration.We launched an investigation into WCL, the only authorised entity in the Wellesley Group of companies, after concerns emerged through our supervision of the firm.
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