Mark Fell KC appeared for the FCA in this case about mortgage arranging and sale and rent back arrangements. The defendants were not authorised to carry on regulated activities. The Court found that the defendants carried on regulated activities in breach of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 by arranging high-interest mortgages for consumers about to be evicted from their homes. The Court also found that the defendants also breached the Act by buying homes from consumers who were facing repossession and then renting the properties back to these consumers. The Court further found that the defendants‘ website contained financial promotions in breach of the Act.

The judgment contains important clarifications about the circumstances in which regulated activities or financial promotions will occur. It also discusses the obligations of a claimant at trial where the defendants have been debarred from defending the claim.