Westway Holdings has collapsed into administration, according to the Gazette.
Reviews left on Trustnet suggest the company stopped repaying investors around November 2019.
I reviewed Westway Holdings in January 2018 and concluded that, despite Westway’s brochure claiming “income underpinned by Government allowances”, its bonds were inherently high risk.
In June 2019 an individual calling himself “Mark” claimed in the comments under the review “many of your statements are factually incorrect and seem designed to scare people” and “every investor to date has received every coupon payment due, with over £2 million repaid upon maturity of historical bonds” (which sounds like inside information to me, unless Westway were touting this irrelevant factoid in promotions or investor communications).
“Mark” failed to point out any incorrect statements in my review. Westway collapsed a few months later.
How much investor money is at risk in Westway is not known, as the company fell overdue with its accounts around the same time that it stopped paying investors. (A figure of £20 million has been mentioned in the review comments but this is unverified.)
How do I get my money back from Westway?
Westway’s investor list has already made its way into the hands of recovery scammers, who have contacted investors already knowing about their Westway bonds. Anyone who cold-calls you claiming they can get your money back from Westway or want to buy your bonds is a scammer.
How Westway’s investor list was leaked to recovery scammers is not known.
If you were advised to invest in Westway by an FCA-regulated company, you may be able to recover your money by making a formal complaint to them.
If the company refuses to provide compensation, the complaint can be taken to the Financial Ombudsman, which can order compensation up to a defined limit. If the company is unable to pay, you would be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000 per person.
Investors should avoid Claims Management Companies (CMCs) as they are unnecessary, often have a lower success rate than direct complaints, and charge eye-watering fees. The FOS and FSCS process is slow but straightforward.
Otherwise the standard procedure is to write off the investment and treat any recovery as a bonus.