Bad Advice Shouldn't Cost You Everything
Specialists in UCIS Professional Negligence Claims
Trusted Partners
What We Do
What We Do
We Connect You With Specialists
We help investors understand their options and connect them with experienced solicitors.
Who We Help
Investors in Illegal Property Schemes
People who purchased units in student accommodation, care homes, hotels, or similar investment schemes.
The Problem
Poor Professional Advice
Many investors weren’t fully informed about regulatory or financial risks, including when schemes may be classified as ‘Unregulated Collective Investment Schemes’.
Why It Matters
SRA-Flagged Investment Risks
The SRA has informed all regulated law firms about the dangers of UCIS and
warned them about being involved in these schemes.
UCIS Types
Apartments
Student Accommodation
Hotel Rooms
Care Homes
How We Work
We’ll ask for some basic information to understand your situation and confirm which documents we need.
You provide the paperwork you received when purchasing your property within the investment scheme.
Our team examines the documents to identify potential professional negligence or UCIS-related issues.
We send you a clear, free report summarising our findings and outlining possible next steps.
Once we have confirmed you have bought into a UCIS, we introduce you to a top-tier, professional negligence law firm.
Important Information:
We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice.
Claims are managed by regulated, specialist solicitors.
Our review process and report are free of charge.
Meet The Founders
Ian Templeton
Director
Dermot Power
Director
What Others Say
Over the past five years, we have worked closely with the team at UCIS Profneg. Their support has helped us to successfully settle claims for groups of investors and to reach and support more people affected by professional negligence of this kind. During this time, they have been consistently proactive and highly professional in their approach.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) is an investment where multiple investors’ money is pooled together to generate a return, rather than each investor having full control over their individual property or investment.
In property schemes, this can apply if:
You bought a unit or room as part of a larger development.
You were promised a guaranteed return or regular rental income.
Rental income was paid from a central “pot” shared between investors.
The development was managed as a whole by a third party.
In these situations, the scheme will be classified as a Collective Investment Scheme.
Under UK law, setting up or operating a CIS is a regulated activity and can only be done by firms authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Many of these schemes were not authorised, and are therefore illegal. The FCA has publicly raised concerns and taken action against firms involved in promoting such investments to the general public.
Even if your property is currently occupied and you are receiving rental payments, the scheme may still be unlawful.
In many cases:
Investors only discover the issue after the scheme fails.
Properties become difficult or impossible to sell.
A competent solicitor may refuse to act for a future buyer.
The legality of the scheme does not depend on whether it is still operating or paying rent. Unfortunately, many of these schemes ultimately collapse, leaving investors exposed to significant losses.
Solicitors have a legal duty to protect their clients’ interests and to understand the regulatory framework surrounding the purchase of property.
Before allowing a client to proceed with a purchase, a competent solicitor should have:
- Recognised the collective nature of the scheme.
- Confirmed whether the scheme was FCA regulated.
Confirmed whether the scheme required FCA authorisation.
Warned the client of the dangers of buying into an Unregulated
Collective Investment Scheme (UCIS).Explained the legal and financial risks involved.
If a solicitor failed to carry out these checks, or failed to properly warn the client, this may amount to professional negligence.
Where negligence is established, the client may have a right to compensation from their solicitor.