Elderly LCF victims say probe will take too long

Victims of the collapse of bond company London Capital & Finance on Friday welcomed the launch of a probe into the City watchdog’s failure to prevent the crisis but were concerned the results may come too late for many elderly investors.

Former judge Dame Elizabeth Gloster has been given a year to come up with her findings, which a spokesman for the LCF Bondholders group warned was “too long considering the demographics of the bondholder population and may have an adverse impact on their emotional well-being”.

The group added: “Furthermore, the prima facie evidence of serious regulatory failure is so compelling that it should be much shorter.”

The issue is key because bondholders hope that if “serious regulatory failure” is discovered, it may trigger the establishment of a government compensation scheme for the 11,600 victims who invested £237 million with the firm.

LCF Bondholders had called for a wider-ranging inquiry than what they claim is the limited jurisdiction under which Gloster’s probe has been authorised.

The FCA was first warned about LCF in 2015.