On 25 March 2026, following a petition filed by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the High Court ordered that Equity for Growth (Securities) Limited (EFG) be wound up.

EFG is a corporate finance firm. EFG was also a principal for a number of appointed representatives between 2015 and 2020, including Amyma Ltd and Osborne Baldwin Ltd, which traded as Hunter Jones.

An appointed representative carries on regulated activity under the responsibility of an authorised firm, known as ‘the principal’.

EFG had received a large number of complaints from investors, which were referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service. These included claims in relation to mini bonds issued by unauthorised companies and promoted by EFG’s appointed representatives, Amyma Ltd and Hunter Jones.

The FCA considered that EFG was insolvent and did not have appropriate resources in relation to the Financial Ombudsman claims. This meant it could not pay any compensation consumers may have been owed. The FCA therefore filed a petition on 18 October 2024 for EFG to be wound up so that claims could be assessed by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The Court has now made a winding-up order.

On the same date as the petition, the FCA placed restrictions on the firm to prevent it from conducting regulated activities.

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects consumers when financial services firms fail. It is the compensation scheme for investors of UK authorised financial services firms and has eligibility criteria about who is covered. The FSCS is operationally independent of the FCA.

The FSCS is now open to customer claims. The FSCS is investigating the firm to determine whether claims meet the qualifying conditions for compensation. Affected investors, including investors whose outstanding cases at the Financial Ombudsman were closed pending the outcome of the petition, should refer to the FSCS’s dedicated EFG page.