If you transferred your pension or invested savings into Ethical Forestry, it is completely
understandable to feel let down. Three directors have now been jailed for fraudulent trading after the
Serious Fraud Office found that investor money funded their own lifestyles rather than the tree plantations
investors were promised. You were not being reckless. This was presented as a legitimate, ethical
investment opportunity, and many investors were introduced to it through what looked like ordinary pension
advice.
Because Ethical Forestry itself was unregulated, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme does not
automatically step in simply because the investment failed. But that does not mean the door is closed. A
claim may still be available against a regulated financial adviser who recommended or arranged an
unsuitable pension transfer, or against a SIPP operator that accepted the investment when it should not
have. Published Financial Ombudsman Service decisions confirm that complaints of this kind can and do
succeed.
Background
Ethical Forestry Ltd (company number 06455149) was incorporated on 17 December 2007 and promoted
investments in Melina tree plantations in Costa Rica. Investors were told their money would fund the
planting, maintenance and eventual harvest of the trees, generating a return. The investment was not
authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Two related companies shared the same registered directors: Ethical Forestry (Holdings) Limited
(company number 09121708, incorporated 8 July 2014, in liquidation) and Ethical Forestry Management
Limited (company number 09031894, incorporated 9 May 2014, dissolved). Ethical Forestry Ltd itself
entered creditors’ voluntary liquidation in December 2015 and is now in liquidation, administered by
Fortus Recovery Limited, Southampton.
Company timeline
The following dated events are drawn from Companies House records for Ethical Forestry Ltd (company
number 06455149):
- 17 December 2007: Ethical Forestry Ltd incorporated. Stephen Philip Greenaway and
Matthew Pickard appointed directors; Michelle Jayne Pickard appointed company secretary. - 16 November 2009: Paul Adam Laver appointed as an additional director.
- 11 January 2016: Members’ resolution passed to place the company into creditors’
voluntary liquidation. - 19 January 2016: Liquidator formally appointed, confirming the company’s entry into
creditors’ voluntary liquidation in December 2015 / January 2016. - 13 September 2017: A replacement liquidator was appointed.
- 10 April 2019: Paul Adam Laver’s directorship ended.
- 7 June 2023: A notice terminating a director’s appointment was filed at Companies
House. The company’s officer register does not currently identify which director this affected. - 17 April 2024: The liquidator then acting was removed by order of the court.
- 3 May 2024: A new liquidator was appointed.
- 20 February 2026: The most recent liquidator’s statement of receipts and payments
was filed, confirming the liquidation remains ongoing.
Related group companies under the same directors, Ethical Forestry (Holdings) Limited (company number
09121708) and Ethical Forestry Management Limited (company number 09031894), are respectively in
liquidation and dissolved.
Who was involved
Companies House records show the following officers of Ethical Forestry Ltd:
- Matthew Pickard, director from incorporation on 17 December 2007. Sentenced to six
years’ imprisonment for fraudulent trading on 3 September 2026 at Southwark Crown Court, and disqualified
from acting as a company director for ten years. - Stephen Philip Greenaway, director from incorporation on 17 December 2007. Sentenced
to five years and three months’ imprisonment for fraudulent trading on 3 September 2026, and disqualified
from acting as a company director for ten years. - Paul Adam Laver, director from 16 November 2009 to 10 April 2019. Sentenced to four
years and six months’ imprisonment for fraudulent trading on 3 September 2026, and disqualified from
acting as a company director for ten years. - Michelle Jayne Pickard, company secretary from incorporation on 17 December 2007.
According to the Serious Fraud Office, Ethical Forestry operated a call centre in Bournemouth whose
staff cold-called members of the public offering pension reviews, sometimes using alternative trading
names including Richmond Solutions and The Pension Report Service. A Companies House search did not
identify any separately incorporated company under those names sharing common directors with Ethical
Forestry Ltd, so these appear to have been trading styles used by the call centre operation rather than
distinct registered entities.
Matthew Pickard, Stephen Greenaway and Paul Laver pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading in January 2026.
The SFO found that investor money was used to fund the directors’ lifestyles, including expensive
properties, luxury holidays and high-performance cars, and that approximately £2.77 million of investor
money was diverted to administer a tax-avoidance arrangement for the directors’ benefit. The SFO’s
criminal investigation has concluded, though its proceedings to identify and recover the defendants’
assets are continuing.
Firms connected to the investment chain
Ethical Forestry itself was unregulated, but investors typically reached the investment through a chain
of other businesses: an introducer made initial contact, a regulated financial adviser recommended or
arranged a pension transfer, and a SIPP operator accepted the investment. Firms identified in connection
with Ethical Forestry business include:
- Avacade Limited and Alexandra Associates (UK) Limited. In 2020 the
High Court found that both firms had unlawfully advised on and arranged pension investments without FCA
authorisation. More than 2,000 consumers transferred approximately £91.8 million into SIPPs, with around
£68 million invested in products they promoted. The FCA obtained a restitution order of approximately
£10.7 million against the firms and their directors, and subsequently secured bankruptcy orders against
the Avacade directors after the restitution order was not satisfied. Both companies are now dissolved. - Pi Financial Ltd, a financial adviser named in a published Financial Ombudsman Service
decision (DRN7666898) concerning an Ethical Forestry investment. The Ombudsman upheld a complaint against
the firm over a consumer who transferred approximately £36,800 from existing pensions into a SIPP and
invested nearly £36,000 in Ethical Forestry, rejecting the firm’s argument that it had acted on an
execution-only basis. - Liberty SIPP
(Liberty Sipp Ltd, trading as Liberty Pensions), a SIPP operator identified as having accepted Ethical
Forestry business. - GPC SIPP Ltd
(formerly Guardian Pension Consultants Ltd), a SIPP operator identified as having accepted Ethical Forestry
business.
Whether any individual claim succeeds depends on which of these, or other, regulated firms was involved
in a particular investor’s own transaction, and on the specific advice, documentation and circumstances
at the time.
Claim My Loss can investigate the complete chain of events behind your Ethical Forestry investment,
from how you were first introduced, to whether pension advice was given, which regulated firms were
involved, and whether the transaction should ever have gone ahead. Depending on what we find, we can
consider potential routes through the financial adviser directly, the Financial Ombudsman Service, or the
Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
You do not need to work out which firm is responsible before you speak to us, and you do not need to
become an expert in any of it. Talk to us for a free, no obligation initial assessment and we will give
you an honest view of where you stand. If you decide to go ahead, we act on a no win, no fee basis.
NB: Each claim is assessed on its own facts. Compensation is not guaranteed and eligibility
requirements and time limits apply.
Sources: Serious Fraud Office (Ethical Forestry case information and sentencing);
Companies House; Financial Conduct Authority (Avacade High Court proceedings); Financial Ombudsman Service
decision DRN7666898.
