Wellesley & Co Limited enters administration

WCL has confirmed to us that there are no clients’ funds held or controlled by WCL.  

WFL, an unregulated company, entered into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) with its creditors in October 2020. This included former Wellesley Bond and peer-to-peer investors.

Because WFL is not authorised by the FCA, we do not oversee the firm or the CVA process.

We understand that investors who chose to receive a cash payment through the CVA have now been paid. The final payments were made on 29 April 2023.

WCL has advised that a small number of investors haven’t claimed their cash. The money is being held by Third Platform Services Limited (TPSL). 

If you think you’re owed money, you can contact TPSL.

Telephone: +44(0)20 71352870

Email: [email protected]

Website: Third Financial[3]

Alternatively, contact the joint administrators using the details above.

If you’ve made a complaint against WCL, you may have a claim if you are due any money in compensation. In the first instance, you should contact the joint administrators.

If you have a complaint or a claim against the firm, we recommend you contact the joint administrators. The joint administrators can provide more details about how complaints or claims will be dealt with. 

If you’ve already referred a complaint to the Ombudsman, they will contact you in due course about next steps. You don’t need to take any action, but you can contact the Ombudsman if needed: 

Phone: 0800 023 4567

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk[4]  

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects consumers when UK financial services firms go out of business.

Whether you’re covered by the FSCS will depend on the:

• firm
• type of activity the firm does

The FSCS is investigating whether there is likely to be any claim against WCL that meets the qualifying conditions for compensation.  

Customers should refer to the FSCS’s dedicated WCL page[5] for further updates.

Find out more about what the FSCS covers and compensation limits[6].

A claims management company (CMC) may approach you offering to help you bring a claim.

You should proceed with caution if you are approached by one of these companies. For most customers, there will be no benefit in involving a third party to make a claim against WCL.

If you use a CMC to make a claim, they are likely to seek a fee[7], which may reduce what you get back.

If you’re considering using a CMC, you should first discuss it with the joint administrators using the contact details above.  

There is a clone alert[8] on the Financial Services Register about an entity called Wellesley Property Group / Wellesley Group Limited.

The firm is still authorised by the FCA and remains subject to our oversight and rules.

The joint administrators are officers of the court and need to comply with all insolvency law. The individuals appointed are authorised to act as licensed insolvency practitioners by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales (ICAEW). We will work with them as appropriate.