Hartley Pensions Limited - case update

Peter Kubik and Brian Johnson of UHY Hacker Young, the Joint Administrators of Hartley Pensions Limited, have proposed four different cost models to calculate exit and administration charges, each resulting in a different cost being charged to SIPP clients.

We last wrote about Hartley Pensions in March, when we described the Joint Administrators’ efforts to recover a loan made by the SIPP provider to connected entity Wilton & Partners Limited.

Around the same time, the Joint Administrators advised that they intended to apply to the Court to ratify an ‘exit and administration charge’ (the “Charge”). After exhausting all enquiries into funding the Charge via the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or The Insolvency Service, the Joint Administrators have proposed four cost models, which offer alternative ways of calculating the Charge and result in a different costs being charged to clients:

1. Fixed fee per client model – This model is a fixed fee for all clients regardless of the type(s) of asset held or value of their SIPPs;

2. Hybrid charge based on asset type model – This model is a different charge for each type of asset held within a client's SIPP. The total Charge to be borne by each client will vary depending on the type(s) and number of assets held within their SIPP;

3. Percentage based model on the total value of the assets under administration – This model will charge a percentage on the value of the assets in a client's SIPP; and

4. Capped percentage charge – This model will charge a percentage on the value of the assets within a client's SIPP subject to a cap to be determined.

The application to Court will seek confirmation that the Joint Administrators have the ability to impose the Charge. The Joint Administrators are currently unable to confirm what the costs will be to each client under each model and propose to provide each client with an asset breakdown of their SIPP and the Charge they will incur once the basis of the Charge is ratified by the Court.

The latest update to SIPP clients can be found HERE. The Joint Administrators have been assisted by DWF Law.