Documented Case

German Property Group (Dolphin Trust)

German Property Group, also known as Dolphin Trust, sold loan notes to UK investors, frequently through pension transfers, to fund the redevelopment of German listed buildings. It failed to repay capital or interest and entered bankruptcy proceedings in Germany in October 2020.

Investment type: Loan notes funding German heritage property redevelopment
Documented investor losses: Millions of pounds of UK pension savings not returned
Date / period: Marketed from the 2010s; preliminary bankruptcy proceedings in Germany October 2020
Relevant organisation: FCA / FSCS / Financial Ombudsman Service / German insolvency courts
Nature of the matter: Insolvency — unauthorised scheme marketed to UK pension investors

All case studies

The investment

German Property Group, trading also as Dolphin Capital, Dolphin Trust and Red Rock, marketed fixed-term loan notes said to fund the conversion of listed German heritage buildings into residential property.

The product was widely sold to UK investors, often through unregulated introducers and self-invested personal pensions.

What investors were told

Investors were told their money was secured against identified German developments and that capital would be returned with fixed interest at the end of a term, commonly five years.

What went wrong

Capital and interest were not repaid. Investigations found that funds had not been applied as represented, and the group's companies entered preliminary bankruptcy proceedings in Germany.

Investor impact

UK investors, including many who had transferred pension savings, lost sums running to millions of pounds. Because the group was never FCA authorised, there is no direct claim against it through UK compensation arrangements.

Regulatory, insolvency and court action

The FCA published a joint statement with the FSCS and the Financial Ombudsman Service in October 2020 confirming that the group's companies had entered preliminary bankruptcy proceedings in Germany on 8 October 2020, and confirming that the group had never been FCA authorised.

The FSCS has since considered claims against UK regulated advisers and SIPP operators that facilitated the investments.

Current documented position

The German insolvency process continues. In the UK, the practical route for many investors has been a claim against the regulated adviser or pension operator involved, rather than against the scheme itself.

Key Lesson

Where an unregulated overseas scheme has been reached through a UK regulated adviser or SIPP operator, the regulated party in the chain is frequently the only viable route to recovery.

Source & Further Information

German Property Group (GPG) companies enter preliminary bankruptcy proceedings
Financial Conduct Authority — published October 2020
View the official source

These case studies summarise matters recorded in public sources including FCA publications, Insolvency Service and Serious Fraud Office material on GOV.UK, court judgments and the Companies House register. They are provided for information only, are not legal advice, and do not describe work carried out by BJM Recovery Ltd for any client. Where an investigation or set of proceedings remains open, the position stated is the position recorded at the date of the cited source.

BJM Recovery Ltd

How We Approach Investment Loss Cases

Every investment recovery matter is assessed individually. The circumstances of the investment, the available evidence, the parties involved and the applicable recovery process will determine the appropriate course of action.

Our starting point in any matter is the documentation. We reconstruct the investment chronologically from agreements, payment records, statements, correspondence and marketing material, and we establish precisely which entities and individuals were involved at each stage, and in what capacity.

We then examine what is on the public record: the Companies House position, any insolvency appointments, regulatory publications, enforcement action and court proceedings. Public records frequently determine which routes remain open, whether that is a creditor claim in an insolvency, a claim against a regulated party in the advice or pension chain, participation in a distribution administered by a regulator, or civil proceedings.

Where a matter has been formally referred to us, we deal with the referring organisation directly and work within the process that applies to that referral.

If you have lost money through an investment that has failed, become insolvent or stopped communicating, we can review the information available and set out the position clearly.

Start Your Recovery Assessment Speak to Our Team

Have you experienced something similar?

Investment losses can be complex and every situation is different. If you have lost money through an investment that has failed, become insolvent or stopped communicating, our team can assess the information available and discuss the potential next steps.

Start Your Recovery Assessment Speak to Our Team