Solidus Technologies Limited is offering unregulated 3 year bonds paying interest as follows:

• Three-year Fixed Term Bond: 10% annual interest in year 1, 3% per quarter (12% per year) in years 2 and 3, plus 10,000 alternative cryptocurrency coins for every £10,000 invested.
• High Net Work Fixed Term Bond: for investments above £100,000, the terms are as above but the quarterly interest is 3.62% instead of 3% in years 2 and 3.
• Three-year Compounded Bond: interest of 37.9% paid at the end of the three year term (11.3% compound interest), plus 10,000 alternative cryptocurrency coins for every £10,000 invested.
• High Net Worth Compounded Bond: for investments above £100,000, as above but the interest is 44.21% (13.0% per year) instead of 37.9%.

Continue reading for a review of Solidus Technologies' bonds.

Buy 2 Let Cars Limited offers the opportunity to invest in lease cars over a term of three years as follows:

• Level 1: invest £7,000-£10,000 and receive a return of 7% per year
• Level 2: invest £14,000 to fund "one unit" and receive a return of 9% per year
• Level 3: invest to fund "two to six new units" (presumably £28,000 - £84,000) and receive a return of 10% per year
• Level 4: invest to fund "7 or more units" (£98,000 or more) and receive a return of 11% per year

Investors' funds are used to purchase a lease car which is then leased out to a borrower. The borrower's lease payments are used to generate the promised return.

If the borrower defaults on their payments, and Buy 2 Let Cars is unable to find another borrower, Buy 2 Let Cars will attempt to sell the car to return investor's capital. If the amount realised is less than the investor invested, Buy 2 Let Cars promises to make up any shortfall up to a maximum of 85% of the amount invested.

Continue reading for a review of Buy 2 Let Cars' investment.

Viderium Limited is offering a 3 year bond paying 9.8% interest per year, paid out quarterly.

The bond is promoted as offering "A Rated Indemnity Insurance".

Continue reading for a review of Viderium's bonds.

Hanover Merchant Capital is offering the opportunity to invest in lease-back contracts for the delivery of mineral water from an aquifer in New Zealand, which pay "annuity type" income of 5.29% each year. After two years, the contract is sold for which Hanover Merchant Capital projects "up to 30% aggregate capital return", with the caveat that this is "subject to market prices".

In email promotions, the investment is promoted as offering "NO Capital Depreciation" and "Secure Underwritten Investment".

Continue reading for a review of Hanover Merchant Capital's mineral water investment.

Intergroup Mining Limited is an Australian gold mining company offering unregulated 12% convertible loan notes paying 12% per year over three years. Continue reading for a review of Intergroup Mining's bonds.

Amicus Invest offers three unregulated offshore investment products:

• Amicus Bonus Cash Account: Pays 4% per year interest (3% on balances calculated daily and a further 1% "bonus" on balances calculated quarterly). Funds can be added and withdrawn at any time.
• Amicus Regular Savings Plan: Pays interest on monthly investments as follows: 6% for a 1 year term, 7% for a 2 year term, 8% for 3 years, 9% for 5 years and 10% for 10 years. Early withdrawals are permitted but forfeit all interest accrued.
• Amicus Single Investment Plan: Fixed term investments paying interest as follows:
  • 3 months - 4% per annum
  • 6 months - 5%pa
  • 1 year - 6.25%pa
  • 2 years and 3 years: "Guaranteed Total Return of 15.00% (equal to 7.25% pa.) and 26.00% (equal to 8.09% pa.)"
  • 5 years and 10 years: "Guaranteed Total Return of 45.00% (equal to 8.75% pa.) and 100.00% (equal to 9.50% pa.)" - these numbers don't add up, as a 45% return over 5 years is 7.7% compounded, and a 100% return over 10 years is 7.1% compounded.

Continue reading for a review of Amicus Invest's cash accounts and bonds.

HPB Assurance Limited offers a Holiday Property Bond in which investors invest at least £5,000 in a bond holding holiday properties and securities. The bond pays no yield; instead, investors have the right to stay in HPB's properties for a "no profit user charge", which would presumably be less than they would pay to a conventional holiday provider for an equivalent holiday.

While at times its literature urges prospective investors to "only consider it for its holiday benefits", the bond is structured as a life assurance bond (aka an insurance bond) which invests in shares and holiday properties, and terms like "investors" and "bondholders" are used liberally in its literature.

If it looks like an investment, and quacks like an investment, and I have to put money in upfront in the hope of a return (cheaper holidays than I'd get elsewhere + an eventual surrender payment) like an investment, it's an investment.

HPB Management Ltd has been in existence since 1981 and is fully regulated by the FCA. This puts it outside the scope of what I usually review on this blog, but the unusual nature of the investment, the fact that it's advertised directly to the general public via the colour supplements and suchlike, and the fact that these bonds are largely ignored by the usual advice channels, was enough to pique my interest.

Continue reading for a review of Holiday Property Bonds.