Documented Case

UK Renewable Investments plc

A company sold corporate bonds to 208 investors to fund anaerobic digestion plants, promising 11% per annum over five years. Around £2.5m was raised, most of it lent on to a connected company, and investors were reported as facing a total loss.

Investment type: Renewable energy corporate bonds
Documented investor losses: £2.5m raised from 208 investors, reported as a total loss
Date / period: Bonds sold July 2015 to September 2016; wound up 2019
Relevant organisation: High Court (Manchester) / Insolvency Service
Nature of the matter: Insolvency — winding-up following bond scheme failure

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The investment

UK Renewable Investments plc sold corporate bonds to 208 members of the public between July 2015 and September 2016, raising approximately £2.5m.

What investors were told

Investors were told their funds would be used to develop anaerobic digestion plants generating renewable energy, that the bonds would pay 11% per annum over a five-year term, with interest paid every six months after the first year and full redemption at maturity.

What went wrong

The majority of the money raised was lent to a separate company for the construction of plants. The expected returns did not materialise and the bond scheme failed.

Investor impact

Bondholders were reported as being set to lose their entire £2.5m investment.

Regulatory, insolvency and court action

A winding-up order was approved in Manchester in 2019 following official investigation.

Current documented position

The company was wound up. The bonds were unregulated, so no compensation scheme applied to the issuer itself.

Key Lesson

A double-digit fixed return on an unlisted bond reflects the risk of the underlying project, not the skill of the promoter. Investors should establish who actually receives the money once the bond proceeds are raised.

Source & Further Information

UK court shuts down renewable energy investment firm
Insolvency Service proceedings, reported by International Adviser and FTAdviser — published 8 April 2019; further reporting 24 February 2021
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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.

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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.

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