THE London Capital Finance (LCF) civil proceedings continued in the High Court last week, February 20, with the barrister defending the mini-bond firm leaving court on the first day stating there was no prospect of their fees being paid.
Before the opening submissions could begin Ian Mayes KC, who was representing former LCF Chief Executive Michael Andrew Thompson, stood down. He told the court that ‘despite best efforts’ Thompson had been unable to release the funds required to pay the barrister.
The court heard how LCF had sold 16,706 bonds to 11,625 members of the public, raising a total of over £235 million by the time of the investment company’s collapse in 2019.
Stephen Robins KC, representing the claimants, argued in written submissions that LCF had been ‘a Ponzi scheme from the outset’ as it used “new investors’ monies to pay returns to existing investors.”
As the Times has previously reported, Tunbridge Wells businessman and former local Conservative Association Chairman, Simon Hume Kendall, is among the defendants.
Hume Kendall stands alleged of breaching ‘fiduciary duty’, meaning the legal responsibility to act solely in the best interest of another party.
The trial, which is expected to last 20 weeks, continues.
