Between late 2009 and May 2011, members of the public invested approximately £3 million in an unauthorised collective investment scheme established and operated by Synergy Land Group Limited and its director, Samuel Exall trading as Synergy Land Group.

Synergy used high pressure sales techniques to persuade members of the public to buy small plots of land from two larger sites which were marketed as Cheltenham Manor on the basis that Synergy would collectively manage and subsequently sell the sites as a whole.

Synergy promised investors that it would obtain planning permission for the sites and negotiate with a developer in order to realise a large profit for individual investors. These arrangements meant that Synergy and Mr Exall were carrying on business as a collective investment scheme (CIS).

While the FCA does not regulate the sale of land, it does regulate collective investment schemes (CIS) and a firm must be authorised by the FCA to promote or operate a CIS in the UK. Neither Synergy nor Mr Exall were authorised.

The Synergy land banking scheme was investigated by the FCA and in June 2011 the FCA commenced civil action against Synergy and Mr Exall resulting in the FCA obtaining orders freezing their assets and stopping the unlawful activity.

Mr Exall was subsequently prosecuted by the City of London Police for conspiracy to commit fraud relating to his involvement in a number of land banking schemes and in October 2016 he was convicted and sentenced to 4 years in prison. He was also disqualified from acting as a company director for 7 years.

The FCA has recently recovered a sum of money following the realisation of assets which Mr Exall was ordered to sell, which the FCA is required to distribute to investors who purchased plots of land from Synergy/Mr Exall.

The watchdog is urging investors who think they might have invested, or might recall family members investing in this scheme, to get in contact.

Mark Steward, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “If you believe you were an investor in this unauthorised scheme, please get in contact with us. Although we will only be able to return a small sum to eligible investors, we are keen to ensure that as many investors as possible benefit from our work to secure and realise assets.”