The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced today it will take no further action against Wellesley & Co Limited (WCL) after its investigation found no evidence of serious misconduct.
The regulator announced the investigation into WCL in 2022 following Wellesley Finance Ltd (WFL), an unregulated entity, entering into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) with its creditors in October 2020.
At the time of WFL’s CVA, around 12,000 investors were owed £134.7 million. About £80 million has been returned to investors but, unfortunately, some investors have lost all that they invested.
The investigation’s focus was whether investors had been given misleading information and defrauded by WCL. It found that the risks were fairly described to investors and there were no signs of fraud.
WCL promoted and arranged high-risk investments that related to property development. These products were not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
WCL was responsible for approving financial promotions used to market certain products to investors. There were other unregulated companies within the Wellesley Group.
The amounts returned to investors under the CVA varied according to the products held. While around 60% of the money invested has been returned, investors who received preference shares as part of the CVA lost all the money they invested. This accounts for about £10 million of the total money owed to investors.
On 30 April 2025, WCL entered administration.
The FCA launched an investigation into WCL, the only authorised entity in the Wellesley Group of companies, after concerns emerged through FCA’s supervision of the firm.
FCA’s analysis looked at marketing materials, risk warnings and statements to check whether the investments were described in a clear, fair and non-misleading way. The Authority also looked at references to the financial position of the Wellesley Group and other unregulated Wellesley companies.
The investigation found investors were clearly warned they could lose their money should they choose to invest, and that the products lacked FSCS coverage. WCL also warned investors about the risk of insolvency regarding the Wellesley companies and the underlying borrowers.
The investigation also reviewed over 30,000 banking transactions and the financial statements of Wellesley Group Investors Limited (WGIL) between January 2017 to April 2021. No evidence was identified to suggest that investor funds had been defrauded or otherwise misused.
