A surge in commercial property Sipp business at Hornbuckle Mitchell has led to a backlog resulting in processing delays that one IFA claims could reach up to 30 working days.
Graeme Forbes, managing director at Glasgow IFA Intelligent Capital Limited, lodged a formal complaint with Hornbuckle Mitchell after he telephoned to amend the lease of his office - which is held inside his Sipp - only to be told it might not complete for 30 working days.
He said: “I, and many others, will have admin issues like VAT returns on rental income, lease amendments, revaluations of assets [and so on] that are time critical and can’t wait six weeks.”
Although Jo French, managing director for operations and client experience at Hornbuckle, said the delays were not likely to be as bad as Mr Forbes was told, she admitted that delays are occurring due to a surge in commercial property business for the Hornbuckle Sipp and that the company is recruiting to address this.
Ms French said: “The macro-diligence we apply is reflected in how long... it takes things to turn around.
“It’s very difficult, there are so many complex things we can do I grow weary of turnaround being a broad brushstroke of the way we work. In that period of time we could have been waiting for solicitors [or other third parties].”
She added that where a transaction was time-sensitive the team would plan accordingly so as not to miss a given deadline.
In January of last year, Hornbuckle Mitchell launched the Property FastTrack service to speed up and improve transactions for Sipp investors and advisers.
At the time, former sales and marketing director Mary Stewart said the service would reduce transaction times from around eight weeks to four.
