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Property firm shut down after taking £1.1m from investors

They were promised ‘misleading’ fixed returns

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Exmount Construction Limited has been wound up by the high court and the official receiver has been appointed liquidator of the company.

The Insolvency Service said that the company “produced a professional-looking brochure” for potential investors, which gave “false and misleading information about the company’s expertise” and “promised fixed returns of 9.12% for three-year bonds and 10.35% on five-year bonds”.

Once victims handed over their money, they were unable to contact the company.

An Insolvency Service investigation found, between March 2018 and July 2019, around £1.1m ($1.5m, €1.32m) had been received by the company from would-be investors.

However, the service said there was no record of any money being used for actual property investments. Around £800,000 was “identified to have been withdrawn by the company directors, or paid to other third-parties”, it added.

The Insolvency Service said: “The directors of Exmount Construction Limited refused to co-operate with investigators or contest the winding-up petition.”

Scam

Edna Okhiria, chief investigator at the Insolvency Service, said: “Exmount Construction Limited induced investors by providing false and misleading statements in sales and marketing material to part with substantial sums of money to invest in property bonds with the promise of generous returns.

“In reality, this was a scam and we urge potential investors to carry out rigorous due diligence to ensure they use their funds on legitimate investments.”

The official receiver will now consider whether to take action against the directors in relation to their conduct and management of the company.

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