The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has declared defunct national advice firm LEBC Group in default, meaning it can start paying out on the more than 200 claims it has received from its clients.
LEBC, also trading as The Care Adviser, The Retirement Adviser and Corporate Healthcare Solutions, fell into default today (October 29) - more than a year after the firm went into administration.
The lifeboat scheme told FT Adviser it has so far received 218 claims against LEBC, most of which were related to pension transfer advice but none were related to the British Steel Pension Scheme.
One claim has been upheld which triggered the default declaration, but the value of the claims is not yet known.
LEBC Group entered administration in August 2023 with Daniel Conway and David Hudson of FRP Advisory Trading appointed as joint administrators.
But LEBC’s assets, client book and personnel were immediately sold to sister company Aspira Corporate Solutions.
A few months later, in November 2023, Aspira was sold to consolidator Titan Wealth.
LEBC has been through a turbulent few years.
After leaving the DB advice market, the Bristol-based firm posted losses in 2019 and 2020.
In October 2019, its parent company BP Marsh & Partners confirmed the advice firm had lost 20 per cent of its revenue by agreeing to give up its transfer permissions.
The firm only returned to profitability in 2021 after Tavistock bought a 21 per cent stake from the widow of founder and former chief executive Jack McVitie - who had died the previous year.
LEBC recorded an operating profit of £799,061 for the year to September 2021, compared to a loss of £370,975 the previous year.
But the profit was still small compared to the £4.3mn operating profit it recorded in 2018.
amy.austin@ft.com
