Companies that were not fully regulated were responsible for selling storage pods through Store First Ltd. These same investment products were also marketed by financial and mortgage advisers to their clients.
When investors didn’t have the funds available in savings then their pensions provided the perfect option. Pensions were easy to transfer across into self-invested pension plans (SIPPs) for the purpose of completing the investments.
SIPP Providers & IFAs
SIPP Providers including Berkeley Burke, Lifetime SIPP, Curtis Banks (previously Montpelier SIPP), Tailormade, and Carey Pensions are all currently under investigation; as well as financial advisers Anthony William Morrin (AWM Financial Services), Anthony Feeney Financial Services LLP, and Douglas Baillie Limited (The Pension Office) for providing clients with advice that was wholly unsuitable.
Investments In Storage Pods
Investors were provided with the opportunity, by Store First, to invest in a range of storage pods with a guaranteed return of 8 percent during the first few years. However, in many cases, these returns never materialised.
Further to this, another blow came when Store First sent out a communication to investors back in February 2018 to make them aware that they were also responsible for paying the business rates.
Investors were initially told that there was a buyback option after their investment was five years old. It turned out though that this was completely optional and Store First could take a further 5 years to come to a decision on whether or not they wanted to buy the investment back.
Companies Owned By Store First
Store First belongs to a number of different companies, all owned by Group First.
Investors that put money into the sister company of Park First also experienced some problems with their investments, which obviously doesn’t come as a surprise.
Richard John Gahan and Toby Scott Whittaker are directors of both Store First and Park First. There is now an invitation in place from the High Court for petitions for winding up Store First and any associated businesses.
Some of the associated businesses include the following:
SFM Services Limited, Store First Midlands Limited, Store First St Helens Limited, Store First Blackburn Limited.
Claims For Compensation
It is often the case that companies give the impression that they look after their clients so that they can avoid claims for compensation being made, all whilst hiding the losses from them. Despite the fact that investors have not yet received the interest payments that they were promised, some are still holding out hope that they will receive their original deposit back.
If you have invested in Store First then it is of great importance that you have the original transaction reviewed by an expert whilst there is still time.
If it is found that the company did not stick to the required regulations and rules then you should be able to claim compensation.
Please get in touch with us today if you have had dealings with any of the businesses listed above so that we can take a detailed look at your investment with them.
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.
