The Resort Group SIPP Claims
Welcome to the Ultimate Resort Group Related Claims Guide, and quite possibly your first step to making a claim.
Invested your SIPP or SSAS pension in the Resort Group Cape Verde?
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has already paid out £5.9 million on claims where investments have been made into The Resort Group. These claims were on behalf of the hundreds of British residents who were persuaded to transfer their pensions in order to invest in resorts like Llana beach and Dunas beach, after a sustained campaign of cold-calling, Free pension reviews and high-pressure sales tactics by a number of unregulated marketing firms and financial advisers, many of whom seem to have ignored their obligations to advise in their client’s best interest, leaving £millions in the hands of The Resort Group – a high-risk and non-FCA regulated investment…
So if you’ve invested in The Resort Group, read the rest of this page, and get in touch to see if YOU can make a claim for negligent financial advice, and possibly even win your retirement fund back!
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What is The Resort Group Plc Cape Verde?
The Resort Group Plc often refers to an investment scheme registered in Gibraltar, operating a chain of holiday resorts in Cape Verde. Initially floated on the Mauritius Stock Exchange, The Resort Group as an investment is outside of the FCA’s regulations – an unregulated investment which means that it is considered to be high-risk.
If you invested in The Resort Group, but the fact that it is a high-risk investment is new to you, then you may have been mis-sold your investment like so many other investors.
Overseas Property and Hotel investments are nearly always considered to be high-risk, and generally speaking, this is reflected in their track record, often involving long delays in getting the properties built of marketed, leading to losses and sometimes the collapse of the investment.
Many people were not told about the high-risk nature of The Resort Group, instead sold on transferring their pension into a SIPP to invest by the high projected returns, celebrity endorsements and flashy marketing produced.
If you invested in The Resort Group through a SIPP or SSAS pension then get in touch for a FREE initial assessment to see if you can make a claim.
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Can you claim for Resort Group mis-selling compensation?
Several financial advisers and the FSCS have been paying out compensation for having been mis-sold The Resort Group 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 The Resort Group 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.
Speak with an expertThe Resort Group Plc timeline of events
2007 - The Resort Group Begins
2014 - Celebrity Endorsements
By 2014, marketing efforts for The Resort Group were in full-swing, with celebrity endorsements to put the icing on the cake.
As seen with the marketing of other proposed high-class resort investments, such as the now infamous Harlequin Properties, The Resort Group flew in celebrities like Kerry Katona and Tinie Tempah for highly publicised grand openings.</span
Alright for some, eh?
2016 - BBC Panorama Focuses On The Resort Group
The program shocked many Resort Group investors, and prompted more than a few calls to the team at Spencer Churchill Claims Advice. Some of the bigger points raised by the show are summarised below:
The Resort Group was the parent company of Lifestyle Connections (a marketing firm that called clients to offer a FREE pension review) and First Review Pension Services (an unregulated financial advice firm).
Undercover footage showed group consultant “Kerry”, describing the investment options she sells: “All of the options I deal with involve the Resort Group”.
The Resort Group described First Review Pension Services & Lifestyle Connections as the “sales and marketing arm”.
The group made around £11m profit in 2015.
An unregulated consultant from First Review Pension Services was filmed “playing down” the benefits of a final salary pension with a view to securing a Resort Group investment: “Well, I can tell you what you had, if it’s any good, no it isn’t so there you are”.
The Resort Group told Panorama that both FRPS and Lifestyle Connections would not be taking on new business after the 30th June 2016, but this decision was unconnected the the Panorama program.
Following the program, several follow-up articles appeared in the press, including Citywire explaining that some sales agents for The Resort Group could have been making 7% commission on the sales, and the BBC published an article looking at the way in which The Resort Group was sold by Bruce Nicholas of First Review Pension Services
2017 - FCA Sends Questionnaire To Resort Group Investors
2018 - TRG in the news
2020
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme pays out £5.9m on claims relating to advice given on Ultimate Resort Group products. And the financial watchdog continues to investigate.
Resort Group Cape Verde Complaints
Its worth noting that when you read about Resort Group Cape Verde complaints, they are often complaints about the way it was sold, rather than complaints about the Resort Group itself.
Regulated financial advisers had the duty to inform prospective investors about the high-risk nature of a Resort Group investment, and to ensure that an investment would be suitable for their client.
Many failed, meaning hundreds were mis-sold their investments via SIPP and SSAS pensions.
Action against the Resort Group
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has already paid-out £Millions on claims relating to advice given on The Resort Group products.
Get started nowResort Group Related Claims
Resort Group Mis-selling Compensation FAQ's
How do I know if I was mis-sold the Resort Group investment?
We’d have to take a look at your potential claim to be sure, but essential it comes down to RISK PROFILES.
Every investment has a risk category, and every individual investor has a risk profile. For an adviser to consider an investment suitable, the risk profile has to match the risk of the investment – simple!
The Resort Group was always a high-risk investment, and as such, advisers should have only been telling people who understood the risks, had enough investment experience, and had enough money to undertake the risk.
Many advisers failed to perform their due diligence on the investment and their clients, leading to many mis-sold Resort Group pensions.
Why is The Resort Group Cape Verde high risk?
Being both registered and based abroad, The Resort Group is NOT regulated by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). It means that the FCA isn’t looking over its shoulder.
How is First Review Pension Services involved?
As with many high-risk SIPP investments, many of the Resort Group investors were introduced to the investment and pension switch by an unregulated marketing company who cold-called them.
In the case of the Resort Group, one such company called First Review Pension Services was actually part of the same group of companies as the investment, described by a Resort Group statement as part of their “sales and marketing arm”.
How can I get compensation for a mis-sold Resort Group investment?
If you took negligent financial advice to invest in The Resort Group, or simply moved your pension to a SIPP in order to invest, then you maybe able to get Compensation.
If your adviser is still operating then you can make a complaint directly to them, or through the FOS, or if the adviser is no-longer running the FSCS may pay you compensation.
Speak with a specialist at Spencer Churchill Claims Advice for a free, no-obligation discussion about your potential claim.
Is the Resort Group still running?
In short, yes. However many investors have reported that they have not had their returns paid for months at a time.