Overseas property investments and SIPP Claims
Overseas property investments may well tick all the boxes of an attractive looking scheme to place your pension money in, whether as a stand-alone investment or via a SIPP, making your retirement look that little sweeter.
Not only do they appear to predict some attractive returns, but the imagery is great: sun-soaked hotels, villas and condos in beautiful locations, giving the impression that they are almost sure to succeed!
Usually, investing in overseas property involves purchasing off-plan hotels, condos and resorts which should then pay a return once the property is available for holiday rent
Other types of overseas property schemes include the purchase of derelict residential properties to undergo refurbishment, followed by rental or resale to make the returns.
We’ve seen all sorts of overseas property investments come and go, both big and small, conservative and ambitious, and we’re pleased to say that many are sold the right way, using clear, honest and transparent advice.
But not all of them…
ALL overseas property investments are HIGH-RISK INVESTMENTS, which are unregulated by the watchdogs at the FCA, and many have gotten into trouble, gone into liquidation, never got off the ground, and some may have even been scams.
Our team of specialist case handlers have experience with claims over the mis-selling of overseas property investments, and we don’t anticipate stopping anytime soon.
If you invested in Overseas property through a SIPP or SSAS pension, you may be able to make a claim for a mis-sold pension using our No Win – No Fee* service
Get started nowCan you claim for Overseas Property mis-selling compensation?
Several financial advisers and the FSCS have been paying out compensation for the mis-selling over overseas property investments via SIPPs and SSASs for a few years, with Spencer Churchill Claims Advice often leading the claim on a No Win – No Fee* basis.
If you:
- Transferred your pension to a SIPP
- Invested in overseas property or other high-risk investments
- Aren’t earning over £100k per year
- Aren’t a Sophisticated Investor
Then you may have been mis-sold, and you could be able to make a claim for negligent SIPP advice.
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Commonly mis-sold overseas investments
While every overseas property schemes is likely to be high-risk as they are usually not regulated by the FCA, and are often registered abroad in places like Cyprus or Gibraltar, while being floated on foreign stock exchanges, some schemes are bigger and more widely mis-sold than others:
Harlequin is perhaps the most infamously mis-sold overseas property investment scheme. Millions of pension money poured in through SIPPs, but little of the resorts actually got built in the Caribbean. One director is set for a trial on fraud charges.
InvestUS/Exit Strategy/Real Estate Investments USA
InvestUS was supposed to use money from SIPP pensions to rebuild homes in Chicago. But it got into difficulties, and was mis-sold to many by Cherish Wealth Management.
More high-risk investments involving Cape Verde and other locations. A huge Serious Fraud investigation was eventually dropped into Stirling Mortimer due to the lack of realistic prospect of getting enough evidence.
One of the bigger ones widely mis-sold through SIPPs, the Resort Group was also the focal point of a BBC Panorama investigation into mis-sold pension investments.
Crete based hotel investment, also in difficulties and often mis-sold through SIPPs.
Another resort, this time based in Thailand.
Related Claims
Overseas Property Compensation FAQ's
Does the claim go against the investment?
No.
Most of these firms are based abroad and are not regulated by the FCA. It is not the job of the investment company to judge who is suitable to invest.
That role falls to financial advisers, and if you took advice that could prove to be negligent, then there may be a claim to be made against the adviser.
Is this like a timeshare?
Most of the investments we commonly see being mis-sold through SIPPs were straight up investments, but one or two sometimes included a timeshare element.
In terms of making a claim, the important part if to work out if financial advice was provided, and whether it is negligent. In this respect, these investments are often very different from a timeshare.