SIPPJan 13 2021

GPC Sipp administrators no closer to recovering cash for FSCS

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GPC Sipp administrators no closer to recovering cash for FSCS
Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

The administrators of defunct GPC Sipp are struggling to recover cash for its creditors, owing nearly £40m in claims to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

A report from administrators Smith and Williamson, filed with Companies House this morning (January 13), showed GPC Sipp still owes 10 creditors, including the FSCS, to the tune of £37.5m.

A claim of £36.8m was submitted by the FSCS last year, however it is only an interim claim and the final figure is expected to be higher.

GPC Sipp is owed £894,282 by seven debtors including business GPC Consultancy and GPC Auto Enrolment.

But of these companies all have been placed into company voluntary liquidation except for The Sipp Lounge and the administrators are now expecting no returns for creditors.

According to the report, the administrators have identified "certain potential claims" following chats with creditors and are pursuing one party. They were unable to disclose further details at this stage.

Meanwhile, to date the administrators’ time costs have amounted to £418,750, more than the original estimate of £370,502.

It is expected that costs for the second year of the administration will be between £20,000 to £30,000.

The FSCS declared GPC Sipp in default last year (February 17) with the lifeboat scheme having received 799 claims for compensation against the provider at the time.

GPC Sipp, formerly known as Guardian Pension Consultants, entered administration in June 2019 due to problems with the investments in its Sipps - several of which failed, such as Harlequin Properties, a £400m project involving a luxury hotel development that was largely never built. 

The Sipp and Ssas books were then bought by Hartley Pensions Limited in August 2019 for £482,000.

Despite receiving claims from other creditors, the company is not expected to receive any claims from sole director Kathryn Taylor as it had already entered into a settlement agreement.

After negotiations between Hartley, Ms Taylor and the administrators it was agreed that Ms Taylor would be paid £18,500, £10,000 from Hartley and £8,500 from GPC, to protect both Hartley and GPC against the risk of any future claims being brought by Ms Taylor.

GPC and its administrators also agreed to waive Ms Taylor's £71,502 directors’ loan as well as pay £25,000 towards her legal fees.

This came after it was revealed that Ms Taylor had £1m transferred to her directors loan account in the form of a "dividend", a mere seven months before the company entered administration.

amy.austin@ft.com

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