Westbury Private Clients LLP was declared failed by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme on 6 May 2022. The firm had already been in liquidation since 2018, following FCA intervention in 2016, but the FSCS declaration brought a formal route to compensation for former clients whose pension money was placed into unsuitable investments. If you were a Westbury client and have not yet had your case reviewed by specialists, there may still be compensation available to you.
Westbury Private Clients LLP (FRN 595603) was an FCA-regulated investment management firm that managed portfolios on behalf of clients, including people who had transferred pension savings into a Westbury-managed structure. The firm worked alongside a number of financial advisory businesses, most notably Synergy Wealth Limited, whose clients were directed toward Westbury for portfolio management.
The FCA’s investigation found that James Paul Goodchild, the portfolio manager at Westbury, had placed client assets into investment portfolios that were plainly unsuitable for ordinary pension holders. The most striking feature of those portfolios was the concentration of around 38% of holdings into a single offshore property developer. In total, approximately 232 personal pension funds with a combined value of over £10 million were exposed to these arrangements.
The FCA banned both Goodchild and his counterpart at Synergy Wealth, Stephen Joseph Burdett, from working in regulated financial services. Their legal challenges against those bans and penalties were rejected, with the Upper Tribunal confirming the bans as recently as February 2026. The FSCS has to date paid over £1.4 million to victims, though if you have not yet claimed, it is important to take advice about your position.
Clients who had their pension savings placed into unsuitable investments by Westbury Private Clients were failed by people they trusted with their retirement security. You may have been told the investment was suitable, balanced or low-risk. If that advice was wrong, and the evidence suggests it often was, then the regulated parties bear the responsibility. Please speak to our team to find out what you may be entitled to recover.
Get Help With Your Claim
If you had dealings with Westbury Private Clients LLP and are worried about your money, please book a free consultation with our team. You may feel embarrassed about what has happened, but you should not. You were let down by people who had a professional and legal duty to act in your best interest. We will carry out all the investigative work on your behalf, at no cost to you. If your claim is not successful, you will not pay a penny. Call us during office hours or email hello@claimmyloss.co.uk – we are here for you.
