WE’RE WATCHING YOU
THE Financial Conduct Authority hopes to have squeezed a further £25 million out of Toby Scott Whittaker, the man behind the collapsed Park First scheme which sold car park spaces to 4,500 investors.
The watchdog has already secured £33 million from the sale of t he company’s car park at Luton Airport, but even if the latest deal with Whittaker is honoured in full, investors will still be left well out of pocket.
Victims of the scheme, which the FCA has condemned as illegal, have lodged claims for around £ 1 5 0 mi l l i o n , b u t sources close to the scandal say t otal l osses may well exceed £200 million.
Sales of the car park spaces began i n about 2014, with investors told to expect yields of ten to 12 per cent.
The FCA ruled that it was actually a collective investment scheme, similar to a unit trust, and was being operated without the regulator’s approval, which is a criminal offence.
The watchdog also claims that marketing material included ‘false or misleading statements’. Penalties for operating an unauthorised investment scheme can be up to two years in prison. But in 2017, the FCA decided not to prosecute the promoters if they allowed investors to reclaim their money or switch to a similar but legal contract which the FCA and Park First put together.
And in what Park First admitted to me was a secret agreement, the watchdog allowed the company to delay refunds as long as it could. The business collapsed into administration in 2019 after failing to keep pace with demands for refunds.
Investors will now be asked to approve a company voluntary arrangement, allowing Whittaker to pay £25 million in instalments. If they approve, Whittaker and fellow director John Slater will admit they acted illegally. If investors reject the deal, the FCA plans to go to court next year, seeking compensation for investors. But there are no plans to prosecute anyone.