Important Information Regarding Your Investment Recovery

Are You a Series 1 Bondholder of Blackmore Bond PLC?

Welcome to our dedicated support page for Series 1 Bondholders affected by the liquidation of Blackmore Bond PLC in April 2020. If you’re concerned about your investment and were covered by the Capital Guarantee Scheme (CGS) with ION Insurance Group S.A. you’re in the right place.

Potential Claim Against Lonsdale Insurance Brokers Limited.

Our legal team has uncovered material information that we believe strengthens arguments of professional negligence against Lonsdale Insurance Brokers Limited and forms the basis of legal action that could result in compensation for bondholders.

No Significant Recoveries Yet

Despite having been in liquidation for many years, there have been no material recoveries resulting in potential distributions to Series 1 Bondholders in the insolvency of Blackmore Bond PLC and there is no reason to believe that the position is likely to change.

Questionable Insurance Cover

New findings suggest that ION might not be a legitimate insurer. These raise serious concerns about the validity of the CGS protection for your investments.

Potential Legal Action

We’re pursuing a claim for professional negligence against Lonsdale Insurance Brokers Limited for allegedly placing the CGS with an unreliable insurer. Our team, including Humphries Kerstetter LLP, Barings Law, and MBM Commercial LLP, is prepared to assist you in this matter.

Assert Your Rights and Seek Just Resolution.

Our experienced team is fully prepared and eagerly awaiting the opportunity to move forward with your claim. We are committed to providing you with the highest level of expertise every step of the way.

Maximising Your Recovery

Our approach avoids expensive litigation funding, increasing the chances of a successful outcome.

No Additional Cost Risk

We intend that any actions that may involve cost risks will be covered by appropriate insurance to protect you from further expenses without an upfront cost to you and instead taken from any recoveries.

No Win, No Fee

We operate on a ‘no win, no fee’
basis. We will only charge for our legal costs if we successfully recover compensation for you.

Critical Mass Required

A sufficient number of bondholders need to join for the claim to be viable. We’ll confirm when this threshold is met.

Next Steps for Bondholders.

See the four simple steps below for you to start and stay engaged with this claim.

Review Information

Please read the details on the signup page carefully, including our engagement letter and funding documentation.

Provide Information

If you’re interested in joining the claim, submit your investment proof and other requested information.

Maintain Confidentiality

All communications and information related to the claim are confidential and should be treated as such.

Stay Updated

We will keep you informed via email about the progress of the claim and any significant developments.

Frequently Asked Questions.

See below for a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

What is the claim about?

Series 1 Bondholders of Blackmore Bond PLC are invited to join a professional negligence claim against Lonsdale Insurance Brokers Limited, the broker which arranged the Capital Guarantee Scheme with ION Insurance Group S.A. (otherwise to be referred to as the CGS). The claim will seek compensation in respect of Lonsdale’s alleged negligence for placing the CGS with an insurer which was not fit for purpose.

Who is working on this claim?

Humphries Kerstetter LLP, Barings Law and MBM Commercial LLP have agreed to work collaboratively on this claim to share resources and expertise. We are three
specialist law firms who share a passion for access to justice. You can find out more information on the firms’ respective websites:

Humphries Kerstetter LLP (https://www.humphrieskerstetter.com/) 
Barings Law (https://baringslaw.com/) 
MBM Commercial LLP (https://mbmcommercial.co.uk/)

How much of my investment will I recover?

Whilst no outcomes are certain, the claim will seek to recover the value of your investments that would have been recoverable under the CGS. We understand that the CGS was capped at a recovery of £75,000 per bondholder therefore this claim would be subject to the same capped recovery.

Should the claim be successful, you will either recover your investment or a proportionate share of the recoveries having regard to the value of your investment. If compensation is awarded by a court or statutory body your share of the recoveries could be less than the full value of your initial investment. It is also possible that Lonsdale may offer to settle the bondholders claims at less than their full value. If this occurs we will seek approval of more than 50% of bondholders before entering into any such settlement on behalf of all of clients.

How are offers of settlement dealt with?

Offers of settlement will be dealt with on a global basis as we do not have the administrative capacity to deal with queries arising from individual bondholders. This
means that if we receive an offer of settlement, we will put forward our legal advice as to whether or not we consider that the offer should be accepted. A proportionate
vote will be conducted weighted to the Bondholders’ respective Series 1 investment with a majority being reached by way of a threshold of 51% or more of the vote. If
the majority elect to reject the offer of settlement despite our advice that you should accept the offer, you will be entitled to seek alternative representation in accordance
with the terms of our funding documentation. Please note that in this scenario we will still be entitled to the recovery of our fees.

How do I pay for this claim?

Humphries Kerstetter LLP, Barings Law and MBM Commercial LLP have agreed to collaborate to enable the claim to be brought on a no win no fee basis. The intention is to avoid the need to secure expensive litigation funding, which would significantly reduce pay outs to Bondholders. You will also be liable to a proportionate share of the legal fees which we will deduct from the recovery proceeds.

Should you wish to join the claim you will not have to contribute towards any legal costs unless the claim is successful and results in the recovery of compensation. This means that:

(1) If the claim is not successful, you will not have to pay any legal costs.

(2) If the claim is successful and you recover your investment or a proportionate share of the proceeds you will also be liable for a proportionate share of the legal fees.

Should proceedings have been issued at Court resulting in the successful recovery of compensation, the contingent fees include: (i) the firms and counsels’ fees incurred for working on this claim; (ii) a success fee of 50% of the value of the fees incurred by the law firms and counsel for working on this claim; and (iii) any disbursements such as court fees and expert fees. Otherwise, if there is a successful recovery of compensation without proceedings having been issued at Court you will pay a damages based fee of 40% plus VAT subject to a cap of 48% of the damages you receive.

(3) We will in no circumstances seek to recover legal costs that exceed 48% of the compensation you may receive in this claim after all costs are deducted and without exposure to adverse cost risk. The level of fees payable will be determined by whether or not settlement can be achieved without recourse to legal proceedings.

Am I at risk of paying Lonsdale’s legal costs should the claim not succeed?

We do not intend to take any action on your behalf which might expose you to paying Lonsdale’s legal costs. Should this become a possibility in the future, we confirm that we will ensure that appropriate after the event insurance is put in place to protect you from this potential liability. There would be a cost to such insurance which would need to be borne between bondholders out of their recoveries on top the anticipated legal costs described above which we will address at the relevant time.

Do I need to sign up to the claim?

If you want to join this claim, you will need to sign up. We will be unable to act on your behalf unless you have signed up to the claim and the claim will only be able to proceed if a sufficient number Series 1 bondholders subscribe. Unless a viable sign up threshold is met, the claim may not be brought. For this reason, bondholders will remain committed to claim, with only limited exceptions, once they have joined. In addition, the more Series 1 Bondholders that join the claim the higher the likely recoveries per investor.

How do I sign up to the claim?

To sign up, please click on the button below. We will be asking you:

(i) To provide your personal details, including copy ID and proof of address, so that we can complete mandatory know your client checks;

(ii) To provide a copy of your proof of Series 1 investment in Blackmore; and

(iii) To respond to a small number of questions to assist us with queries surrounding expiry of limitation (i.e. the date of when a claim should be brought by) and liability.

How can I stay updated on the progress of this claim?

Once you have signed up to this claim, you will receive a welcome email which sets out contact information. We will also send periodic updates of the progress of the claim by email as and when required. Please do not contact any of the firms via any other contact details including through their websites as your correspondence will not be answered.