BEAUFORT SECURITIES LIMITED
Originally trading as Hoodless Brennan & Partners Ltd when it first started in 1995, the company went on to change its name to Beaufort Securities (FRN) 155104. The company received its first fine in 2003 after not keeping the correct records, providing misleading & false information, not following the correct compliance procedures and not supervising corporate broking staff.
Comprehending Risk
The regulatory body fined the company in 2006 again for having weak selling practices, this mainly related to AIM stock being sold to advisory customers without them being made fully aware of the various risks involved with investing in small companies and penny shares.
The company also used the trading names Hoodless Brennan PLC, HB Corporate, HB Markets Limited, or Hoodless Brennan & Partners PLC.
Beaufort Self-Invested Personal Pension
Despite a name change to Beaufort Securities, the company found themselves in trouble again during the back half of 2016 and were forced to limit the activities that it was allowed to perform.
The company worked with a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) provider called Gaudi Regulated Services Limited offering customers the ‘Beaufort SIPP’. Distribution of the discretionary service was done by the regulatory bodies and regulated Financial Advisers.
After Beaufort Securities had its activities limited, Gaudi began liaising with advice firms to transfer to a preferred alternative. As a result, some Beaufort customers were transferred to the Share Centre.
Shortly after the United States Department of Justice placed charges on the company for its involvement in money laundering and securities fraud, UK regulators put Beaufort Asset Clearing Services Ltd into special administration in March 2018, and its regulatory permissions have since been revoked.
PwC were appointed as the administrators for Beaufort Asset Clearing Services (BACSL) and Beaufort Securities Limited (BSL). The company was also involved in discretionary fund management and stockbroking.
Compensation Claim
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) declared Beaufort Securities Limited to be in default. Although some amounts of money have been put back into the SIPP accounts of their clients, this has not been the same experience for everyone. Many customers have not had their case fully investigated for counts of negligence with respect to the advisory stockbroking and discretionary fund management services they received.
Next Steps
Call us now for a phone or video consultation with one of our legal experts on 0800 041 8358 to find out if you are entitled to compensation, you may even be entitled to additional compensation if you have successfully claimed in the past.
Company background (public record)
The company was incorporated at Companies House on 5 March 1992 under company number 02693942. Its status at Companies House is recorded as dissolved.
Registered office: 23 Austin Friars, London, EC2N 2QP, England.
Previously named: HB MARKETS LIMITED; HB MARKETS PLC; HOODLESS BRENNAN PLC; HOODLESS BRENNAN & PARTNERS PLC; QUICKFAVOUR LIMITED.
Nature of business (SIC): 66120.
Company timeline (public record)
Key dated events for this firm, drawn from public records. Each entry shows its source.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 05 Mar 1992 | Company incorporated | Companies House |
| 05 Mar 1992 | Swift Incorporations Limited appointed corporate-nominee-secretary | Companies House |
| 24 Mar 1992 | Jonathan Francis Graham Wort appointed secretary | Companies House |
| 24 Mar 1992 | John Patrick Brennan appointed director | Companies House |
| 24 Mar 1992 | Geoffrey Alan Hoodless appointed director | Companies House |
| 13 May 2016 | Alan Hadley approved by the FCA at the firm | FCA Register |
| 31 Oct 2016 | John Patrick Brennan resigned as director | Companies House |
| 01 Mar 2018 | Company entered administration (in administration) | Companies House |
| 02 Mar 2018 | Timothy James Chandler resigned as director | Companies House |
| 02 Mar 2018 | John Henry Craft resigned as director | Companies House |
| 02 Mar 2018 | John Farthing resigned as director | Companies House |
| 15 Mar 2018 | Declared in default by the FSCS | FSCS |
| 09 Aug 2018 | FSCS update: The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) is glad to announce that the vast majority of clients of Beaufort Asse… | FSCS |
| 25 Sep 2018 | FSCS update: PwC the joint special administrators, have now transferred the first tranche of client money and client assets to the no… | FSCS |
| 25 Oct 2018 | FSCS update: We’re continuing to work with PwC on completing our investigation into claims of negligence against Beaufort Securities | FSCS |
| 05 Nov 2018 | FSCS update: Around 350 clients, mainly in Wales, can now start to access their cash and assets | FSCS |
| 14 Nov 2018 | FSCS update: More than 3000 additional clients can now start to access their cash and assets after PwC, the joint administrator, reac… | FSCS |
| 21 Nov 2018 | FSCS update: We have started sending letters to customers who were transferred from Beaufort to the Share Centre on 24 September 2018 | FSCS |
| 21 Dec 2018 | FSCS update: FSCS has made great progress with processing claims against Beaufort Securities Limited over the past few weeks | FSCS |
| 29 Jan 2019 | FSCS update: More than 750 Beaufort clients began to access their transferred money and assets on Monday 28 January | FSCS |
| 08 Feb 2019 | FSCS update: The Beaufort administrators have made us aware of a potential scam where some Beaufort clients have been approached by i… | FSCS |
| 14 Apr 2019 | FSCS update: FSCS has now successfully returned assets and cash to more than 16,000 former clients of Beaufort Asset Clearing Service… | FSCS |
| 21 May 2019 | FSCS update: Negligence claims made against Beaufort Securities Ltd (BSL), relating to the firm’s discretionary fund management and a… | FSCS |
| 31 Jul 2019 | FSCS update: Negligence claims made against Beaufort Securities Ltd (BSL), relating to investments in Aegis Power Bonds have now been… | FSCS |
| 30 Aug 2019 | FSCS update: Claims against Beaufort Securities Ltd are now being assessed by our claims assessment teams | FSCS |
| 03 Mar 2020 | Company administration ended (in administration) | Companies House |
| 03 Jun 2020 | Company dissolved | Companies House |
| 19 Feb 2021 | FCA status recorded as: No longer authorised | FCA Register |
Focused on the firm’s early history and the events leading up to and following its failure. 87 routine entries from its active years are omitted.
Who was involved?
The following individuals are listed on public records in connection with the firm. These are matters of public record only and their inclusion does not imply any wrongdoing by any named person.
- Ian Mclaren. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (28/07/2009 to 28/01/2010) at the firm.
- George McGrady. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF28 Systems and controls (15/07/2008 to 15/02/2010), CF1 Director (15/07/2008 to 15/02/2010) at the firm.
- Neil Butland. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (21/10/2008 to 01/06/2009) at the firm.
- Stephen Harold Greenwood. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF13 Finance (10/10/2002 to 01/03/2003), CF10a CASS Oversight function (18/04/2012 to 02/04/2013), CF1 Director (15/04/2010 to 02/04/2013), CF3 Chief Executive (06/01/2011 to 10/07/2012) at the firm.
- Zahid Mahmood. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (11/02/2014 to 22/07/2014) at the firm.
- Matthew Russell Brown. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF22 Investment Adviser (Trainee) (25/08/2006 to 13/04/2007), CF21 Investment Adviser (21/08/2006 to 25/08/2006) at the firm.
- Joseph Paul Neighbour. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF22 Investment Adviser (Trainee) (30/04/2007 to 23/07/2007), CF30 Customer (01/11/2007 to 28/09/2008), CF21 Investment Adviser (23/07/2007 to 31/10/2007) at the firm.
- Sadek Baksh. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF21 Investment Adviser (31/05/2006 to 03/01/2007), CF22 Investment Adviser (Trainee) (21/10/2005 to 31/05/2006) at the firm.
- Tanvier Malik. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF3 Chief Executive (08/04/2013 to 08/12/2019), CF1 Director (06/12/2012 to 08/12/2019), SMF3 Executive Director (09/12/2019 to 15/09/2020), SMF1 Chief Executive (09/12/2019 to 15/09/2020) at the firm.
- Rupert William Cantello. Listed on the FCA Register as having held CF30 Customer (01/11/2007 to 02/02/2011), CF21 Investment Adviser (13/08/2007 to 31/10/2007) at the firm.
Appointed Representatives and Agents
While it was authorised, the firm acted as principal for the following appointed representatives. An appointed representative carries on regulated business under the responsibility of its principal, so their conduct can be relevant to a claim.
| Appointed representative | Reference | Effective from | Ended |
|---|---|---|---|
| HB Axis Ltd | FRN 226957 | 28/07/2003 | 16/12/2003 |
| Sharecrazy.Com Ltd | FRN 215145 | 11/07/2002 | 31/07/2009 |
Review page sources: FCA Register (FRN 155104) · Companies House (02693942) · FSCS. Public records, provided for transparency.
