Toby Whittaker is among six defendants charged as part of an investigation into storage company Store First
A picture of Toby Whittaker dated 2008 close to Liverpool’s waterfront(Image: Unknown)
The director of a company which operates Liverpool’s Mann Island has been charged as part of an investigation into alleged pension fraud. Toby Whittaker is among six defendants who have been charged as part of an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) into the transfer of £75m in pension funds into storage units based mainly in the north of England and Scotland.
The SFO said between 2011 and 2014, over 1,900 UK investors transferred their pensions into self-invested personal pensions to invest in storage units sold by UK company Store First. Investors were allegedly promised a long-term leasehold on a unit and a return on their investment through renting the unit out.
The SFO alleges that misrepresentations were made in the marketing of the product, including that investors would receive a guaranteed return and that units were ready for people to rent out. Alleged misrepresentations also include offering upfront cash incentives to investors without telling them they might be exposed to a tax liability for receiving money out of their pension.
Whittaker, 48, is listed as one of the directors of company Store First Limited, which changed its name on July 11 this year to Store First Newco Limited, according to documents on Companies House. He has been charged with conspiracy to defraud as part of the SFO investigation.
Whittaker denies the alleged offences, telling local media in Lancashire that he is “both shocked and saddened to find myself subject to these proceedings”.
He said: “I have acted in good faith and the business in question remains fully operational…I have full confidence in the British legal system and I trust that, in due course, the facts will speak for themselves”.
Stephen Michael Talbot, Stuart Grehan – also known as Stuart Chapman-Clark, Terence Wright and Emma Hawkins – also known as Emma Grehan, have also been charged with conspiracy to defraud. Talbot has been further charged with money laundering. He has also been charged, along with Stuart Grehan, with Perjury Act offences. A sixth, unnamed defendant has also been charged with money laundering.
Whittaker is also listed on Companies House as a director of Group First Limited – a parent company of Store First and several other businesses. Group First’s website describes a “diverse network of companies [ranging] from serviced apartment blocks to housing estates, business centres to industrial estates, self-storage facilities to international airport car parks”.
There is no indication that any of the other companies under the Group First umbrella are involved in any sort of alleged wrongdoing or are being investigated as part of the SFO probe.
Among Group First’s portfolio is Mann Island Premier Apartments Limited, described on its website as “a specialist lettings agency managing apartment rentals for Mann Island and other premium Liverpool residential properties”. Mann Island contains 376 luxury apartments built in 2008 during Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture.
According to the Group First website, its portfolio also includes York and Argyle Street in Liverpool, as well as projects in Manchester, Salford and Nelson.
Whittaker, who has 102 current or previous appointments listed on Companies House, is also the director of property firm Dylan Harvey Group. According to the Group First website, Store First has units across the north of England and Scotland, including two on Merseyside in Liverpool and St Helens.
Nick Ephgrave QPM, director of the Serious Fraud Office, said: “The charges are the culmination of a complex investigation by the SFO and represent an important step in pursuing justice for the many people who transferred their hard-earned pensions into this product.”
All the defendants were listed to make their first appearances at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today, Thursday, August 21.