A person has been prohibited from acting as a company director by the Insolvency Service after investors in Brazilian teak plantations lost over £8.5 million.
Guy Conroy, aged 57, served as a director of Green IS Group Limited and GIS Forestry Limited, which offered investors the chance to purchase teak trees on Brazilian plantations.
The Insolvency Service found that Conroy permitted the companies to provide misleading information, assuring investors their funds were secure and protected by safeguards.
Both companies entered liquidation in March 2022, owing at least £8.525 million to approximately 250 investors.
Conroy has been disqualified from serving as a company director for 11 years. Ann Oliver, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, labelled the companies’ trading practices as “wholly unacceptable.”
This ban prevents Conroy from participating in the promotion, formation, or management of any company without court approval until March 2036.
“Conroy’s behaviour falls far short of the standards expected of company directors, prompting us to take action to exclude him from the corporate sphere until March 2036,” Oliver stated.
According to the Insolvency Service, Green IS Group and GIS Forestry typically sold bonds for £5,000 each, with terms ranging from two to ten years and interest rates between 8% and 11%.
At the end of each bond’s term, the companies were supposed to redeem the bonds, returning the initial investment to the investor.
Investors believed they were acquiring rights to teak trees or saplings on Brazilian plantations, but the companies lacked proper ownership rights to these assets.
No debenture was ever registered over Green IS Group’s assets at Companies House, and security over GIS Forestry’s assets was only registered in October 2020, despite issuing bonds since December 2014.
The majority of investors were UK-based, with the largest creditor claim in the liquidation amounting to £636,000.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted a disqualification undertaking from Conroy, with the ban commencing on 27 March 2025.
The liquidator has obtained records and met with Conroy and other directors to identify and recover company assets.
Our Thoughts
Whilst the administrators are obliged to act for the investors in trying to recover as much money as possible, it is highly unlikely that investors will recover all of their money.
Can investors in Green IS Group and GIS Forestry Limited claim for compensation or financial redress?
This depends on whether there were any regulated parties involved in the investment promotion.
Cash Investments into Unregulated Investments like these are not protected by the FCA however if there was a financial adviser involved at any stage, or if the investment was made via a pension or a regulated investment platform, then there may be a possibility of making a successful claim. However, given the time that has passed already we would advise anybody who is considering a claim to investigate quickly as these types of claims are subject to statutory limits meaning if you wait too long, even if you have a valid claim it could be time-barred.
Our team are here to put any regulated parties on notice whilst we investigate for you.
If you think you may have been deceived by financial advisers or pension providers promoting questionable sustainable investment schemes, such as this one, Claim My Loss is here to assist you in pursuing recovery. Schedule a no-obligation 15-minute consultation with one of our investment specialists to discuss your case and explore potential solutions.
You can read more about GIS Forestry Limited here
