Fortitude Capital goes into administration

July 14, 2020July 9, 2020 ~ Brev ~ 2 Comments

Fortitude Capital has collapsed into administration. Neil Bennett & Alex Cadwallader of Leonard Curtis have been appointed as administrators.

The administrators were appointed by a secured creditor, which based on Companies House's list of charges is most likely to be Fortitude's Security Trustee, More Group.

I reviewed Fortitude Capital's bonds in September 2018 and noted that, despite Fortitude's owner Ajaz Shah claiming in literature that "The foundation of Fortitude is capital preservation", the bonds were inherently high risk.

MJS Capital update: most of investors’ £42 million written off by directors

June 16, 2020June 4, 2020 ~ Brev ~ 2 Comments

The liquidators of MJS Capital have released an update into the first year of its winding up.

In total MJS Capital raised £42 million from investors, including via unregulated introducers. Claims for £36 million have been received by the liquidators and they estimate a further £6 million is yet to be claimed.

MJS Capital administrator says shell company used as “conduit for misuse of funds”; former MJS adviser alleges Ponzi scheme

October 28, 2019October 28, 2019 ~ Brev ~ 2 Comments

MJS Capital (aka Colarb) collapsed in 2018 after ceasing payments to investors. In March this year it was placed into liquidation.

Relatively little news has emerged from MJS Capital since then, other than a filing on Companies House showing that a creditors committee has been formed, and the odd tidbit released to the press. The liquidators have not yet released a report into the liquidation of MJS Capital (now Colarb Capital plc) itself.

The liquidators, David Rubin & Partners, have however released a report on MJSC Marketing Limited, a shell company used by MJS Capital to move money.

MJS Capital assets overstated by £20 million, says administrators

September 2, 2019August 29, 2019 ~ Brev ~ 7 Comments

According to the Evening Standard, the administrators of MJS Capital (aka Colarb) believe that CEO Shaun Prince has overstated its assets by £20 million.

Liquidator Asher Miller of David Rubin & Partners has written a report to creditors saying Colarb’s balance sheet cites assets of £39.7 million, of which Prince had said £27.7 million could be realised. However, the report says Prince’s figure appeared to be “overstated by £20 million or more” based on earlier documents signed by Prince and MJS’s two biggest portfolio companies.

Liquidators appointed in MJS Capital collapse

May 22, 2019May 21, 2019 ~ Brev ~ 1 Comment

David Rubin and Partners has been appointed to liquidate MJS Capital (now known as Colarb Capital).

MJS collapsed early in 2018 and was finally put into liquidation in March 2019. It allegedly took £30 million from bondholders.

After a five-way beauty parade between rival insolvency practitioners seeking the appointment, David Rubin & Partners was given the job last month, according to a recent filing with Companies House.

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MJS Capital (aka Colarb) to be wound up

March 22, 2019March 21, 2019 ~ Brev ~ 5 Comments

A filing on Companies House reveals that MJS Capital (renamed Colarb in October 2018) has gone into liqudation.

MJS Capital issued 5 year bonds paying up to 9.85% per year. Despite the inherent high risk nature of a loan to a micro-cap startup company, multiple MJS directors repeatedly and inaccurately claimed that the investment was "low risk".

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MJS Capital sells Tempus Magazine to private security specialist

March 15, 2019December 3, 2019 ~ Brev ~ 3 Comments

Tempus, the luxury lifestyle magazine, has relaunched after a five-month hiatus, after being sold by collapsed unregulated investment firm MJS Capital (now Colarb).

Tempus was effectively acquired by MJS Capital in March 2017, and used extensively to sell its unregulated bonds, with frequent double-page ads in the magazine and advertorial articles about MJS Capital itself, which misleadingly described the bonds as low risk.

The September 2018 issue, ironically named a "Wealth Edition", was the last under MJS Capital's ownership. The magazine then ceased to publish for several months.

At the end of January 2019, however, Tempus published a further issue under new ownership. The contents page identifies Vantage Media Limited or Vantage Media Group as the new owners.

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MJS (aka Colarb) Capital faces winding up hearing next week

February 15, 2019February 14, 2019 ~ Brev ~ 5 Comments

A winding up petition against troubled unregulated investment firm MJS Capital (now Colarb Capital) is due to be heard on Wednesday 20th February.

A petition was originally filed by an MJS creditor on 23 October 2018 and due to be heard on 23 January 2019, but this was delayed and eventually rescheduled to next week.

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MJS Capital / Colarb investors asked to defer repayment for a year; Shaun Prince claims MJS bonds have capital protection better than FSCS

January 15, 2019January 14, 2019 ~ Brev ~ 9 Comments

It's been nearly a year since MJS Capital (known as Colarb Capital since October; to avoid confusion, for the rest of this article we will continue using their original and less silly name) started to fail to pay investors' interest and capital on time, something it has blamed on "banking issues".

Investors are now being told that to receive their funds back, they must switch from MJS' bond series 3 or 5 to Colarb bonds series 4. Investors have been promised that if they do, quarterly interest payments will resume and they will receive their (already overdue) capital back after a year.

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Action Group formed for MJS Capital (Colarb) investors

December 27, 2018December 27, 2018 ~ Brev ~ 8 Comments

Since early 2018, investors in MJS Capital (now Colarb Capital) have experienced issues with having interest paid on time and receiving their capital back on time.

Numerous comments have been left on this blog from frustrated and often frightened investors trying to find out what action they can take.

MJS Capital issued unregulated loan notes which were, by their nature, extremely high risk and only suitable for sophisticated and high net worth investors. Despite this, they were promoted by MJS Capital representatives as "very low risk" and "a safe haven".

An investor action group has been set up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/mjscapital/ to help investors come together, share information, and find a way forward. The group is "closed", which means that anything posted in the group will only be visible to those who have been allowed to join.

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