Finance companies Satchi Holdings plc and Hartreel Ltd have been wound up after investors were misled, and the directors failed to cooperate with investigations into the two firms' affairs.
Satchi Holdings plc, run by brother and sister Michael Haston and Jennifer McQueen, raised £3m from members of the public, and promised safe investments in asset-backed loan notes paying up to 9% interest. However investors received minimal interest payments, no return of their investments, and risked their life savings.
The Insolvency Service have reported that Satchi Holdings plc and Hartreel Ltd were wound up at the High Court of Justice on 30 January 2024 in the public interest. It was the Insolvency Service's investigation that uncovered the fraud involving the unprotected bond scheme.
The Official Receiver has been appointed as Liquidator of both companies.
Mark George, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said "Satchi Holdings plc took money from members of the public who invested in good faith, believing that their money was properly protected. Both companies showed utter disregard for their financial accountability and blatantly misled investors, many of whom handed over life savings or pensions. Removing these rogue companies will protect the public from further harm."
From June 2019, Satchi Holdings plc, registered in Mayfair, London, was run by Haston and McQueen, and raised money by issuing asset-based fixed rate loan notes, which were due to pay out in June 2024. The loan notes were not approved under s21 FSMA 2000 so should only have been offered to high net-worth invidividuals, or sophisticated investors. Not only this, but investors were told that their investments were covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) (which does not cover unregulated investments).
Satchi customers were also told that the company was backed with assets of £34m.
In November 2021, Satchi Holdings plc's assets were purchased by Hartreel Limited, based in Bridgend, Wales. In December of that year, they informed investors that they would be repaid early. However the last interest payments investors received were between April 2020 and January 2022.
The Insolvency Service can investigate complaints about corporate abuse by live companies, and discovered that Satchi had lent money to four companies associated with Mr Haston, and therefore the transactions had not been conducted at arm's length due to his directorship and/or involvement with both loaning and receiving the funds.
Only £200,000 was loaned legitimately, and it transpired that money is unrecoverable as Satchi Holdings plc failed to fully honour the contract.
Halston and McQueen (who sound like a 1970s TV detective duo) failed to cooperate with the investigation, in particularly failing to deliver up books and records. Investigators could find no evidence of the £34m of assets that investors were told about.
