London Capital & Finance Plc (in administration) and others v Michael Andrew Thomson and others [2024] EWHC 2894 (Ch)
The High Court in London has handed down judgment in favour of the joint administrators of London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) and the joint administrators of London Oil & Gas Limited (LOG) in their claim against the former CEO of LCF and various other defendants. Mishcon de Reya LLP acted for the successful claimants.
The 341-page judgment, which can be found here, was delivered following the conclusion of a 20-week trial earlier this year at London's High Court. The decision is now a leading authority on fraudulent trading, knowing receipt, and the bona fide purchaser defence.
This case was listed as one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2024.
Background
Between 2013 and December 2018, LCF raised a total of £237 million from around 11,600 retail investors by issuing "mini-bonds". In doing so, it presented itself to investors as a commercial lender to borrowers in the UK SME sector.
The FCA intervened in the business in December 2018 and LCF went into administration on 30 January 2019.
The deficit to creditors is now over £379 million.
The collapse of LCF
The collapse of LCF prompted significant action by government, regulators and law enforcement.
In particular, (i) the Economic Secretary to the Treasury ordered an independent investigation, chaired by Dame Elizabeth Gloster, into the supervision of LCF by the FCA, (ii) the Compensation (London Capital & Finance plc and Fraud Compensation Fund) Act 2021 was passed in order to partially compensate victims of the fraud and (iii) significant fines for LCF's auditors.
A Serious Fraud Office investigation remains ongoing.
Judgment
In his judgment, Mr Justice Miles held that held that the defendants (i) knowingly participated in fraudulent conduct (ii) misappropriated significant sums from LCF and (iii) operated a Ponzi scheme. The Judge also found that a number of the defendants entered into a series of artificial transactions whose purpose was to conceal the misappropriation of funds from LCF.
The claimants succeeded in all of their claims, including claims for fraudulent trading under section 246ZA of the Insolvency Act 1986, breach of fiduciary duty, dishonest assistance, knowing receipt, and proprietary tracing claims.
Since proceedings were issued in August 2020, the claimants have obtained numerous worldwide freezing orders and proprietary freezing orders against the defendants in the case.
The Mishcon de Reya team
The Mishcon de Reya LLP team was led by partners, Danny Davis, Barry Coffey and Mike Stubbs supported by Elena Georgiou, Tyrone Rees-Davies, Megan Hulme, Matthew Scola and others.
Learn more about Mishcon de Reya LLP's Insolvency and Restructuring team and Dispute Resolution team.