Blackmore Bonds, which issues unregulated loan notes in its property development business, is a few days late in paying quarterly interest to some investors, according to reports in Money Marketing and the Telegraph.
According to Bond Review readers and The Telegraph, Blackmore’s switchboard is jammed with worried investors and it is not answering emails.
A Blackmore spokesman told The Telegraph:
Due to delays in the banking system, a number of client interest coupons may not yet have been processed. We are working hard to resolve the issue and are confident it will be resolved imminently.
Normally a company being a few days late in paying interest would be no big deal.
Especially when you consider that in March, Blackmore stated that it was obtaining Return on Capital Employed of 54% and that this was sufficient to meet the high rates of return required to return up to 9.9% to investors while paying commission of up to 20%.
But the collapse of London Capital & Finance in February, and the fact that Blackmore used the same marketing agent as LCF (and paid it up to 20% commission), appears to have spooked some investors and caused them to keep a close eye on their regular payments.
This is borne out by Blackmore’s Trustpilot reviews, which over the last 48 hours have seen a spate of 1-star reviews from worried investors.
Didn’t receive coupon last day of month 31/7 and couldn’t get through. They also appear to have delayed filing the annual accounts. All alarming and concerned end up like LCF scam.
Unfortunately lack of communication breeds mistrust and it is quite understandable that investors are worried due to the collapse of London Capital and Finance, a similar venture.
As per previous posts i am also getting quite worried regarding my investments with Blackmore..I am now preparing for worst case scenario..??
This will be of great concern to Blackmore which prominently advertises a 5-star Trustpilot logo on the front page of its website. At time of writing this is no longer accurate as Trustpilot shows its average rating has dropped to 4 stars.
Blackmore Bonds closed to new business from UK investors in April, but continues to invite overseas investors to invest via blackmoreinternational.com. Obtaining information about its bonds via the blackmoreinternational.com requires prospective investors to declare that they are not from the UK.
To boost its attempts to secure investment from outside the UK, Blackmore opened an office in Dubai this year, with further offices planned in Tokyo and Hong Kong.
Last month Blackmore Bonds used a loophole in the Companies Act to delay filing accounts. Blackmore Bonds says it will file accounts next month in September, after changing its auditor.
Blackmore’s Trustpilot page currently states that it has raised £35 million from investors in its bonds.
Update 7.8.19
According to Money Marketing, Blackmore has now made the late interest payment, describing the delay as a “clerical error” with their bulk payment system.