Following the December 2022 contract exchange, the sale of insolvent company Rowanmoor Personal Pensions Limited (RPPL) to SIPP and SSAS provider Alltrust was completed on Friday 3 March 2023.
Rowan Moore came to power last summer after a flood of complaints against the financial ombudsman service.
According to the FCA, the RPPL has many complaints about “historic, high-risk, non-standard assets” and for not conducting “appropriate” due diligence before accepting these assets into its clients’ SIPPs. I received a complaint.
Following the complaint, RPPL sought expert advice on liability from existing and potential complaints. After review, RPPL’s directors determined that the company was insolvent and should be placed under control.
After RPPL became insolvent, Adam Stephens and Christopher Allen of Evelyn Partners LLP were appointed co-managers of RPPL on August 31, 2022.
In September, the FSCS announced it had received approximately 3,000 claims against 116 advice firms involved in recommending Rowanmoor’s annuity product.
Rowanmoor Personal Pensions, formerly part of the Embark Group, was sold as a separate business when Lloyds Banking Group acquired the Embark business for £390m in February 2022.
Alltrust is an established provider of trust and custody services for various types of pension plans, including various SIPP structures, with a particular focus on providing flexible investment options to its clients.
Chief Administrator Adam Stephens said: This provides continuous service to RPPL’s clients.
“We are working with Alltrust to ensure a smooth transition of the business.”
CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP acted as legal counsel to the joint managers and assisted in the sale, which was led by restructuring and bankruptcy partner Julian Turner, corporate partner Rizwan Rahman, and pension partner Alistair Hill.
Customers are said to be business as usual with Alltrust continuing to provide the full range of normal services to clients formerly provided by RPPL.
Management has sent letters to clients and their advisors providing details regarding the sale of the business.
Prior to management, RPPL specialized in providing scheme administration and scheme operations services for SIPP and FPT.
It manages around 4,000 SIPPs and 800 FPTs with a total investment of £1.5 billion.
WBR Group acquired the SSAS business of the failed company in January.