The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has begun High Court proceedings against Osborne Baldwin, which operates as Hunter Jones and Hunter Jones Group, and its founder Reece Mennie. The City watchdog alleges the firm sold loan notes and carried out regulated activity without proper authorisation.
According to the FCA, it is asking the court to prevent Hunter Jones from conducting regulated activity and to compel the company to return money to investors. Court filings indicate these proceedings are at an early stage, with the court yet to determine the claim and no trial date currently set.
Mr Mennie, who established the firm in 2013, informed City AM that he and Osborne Baldwin had been in discussions with the regulator and had not received prior warning of court action. Osborne Baldwin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The action comes amid increasing scrutiny of loan notes and their availability to retail investors. Earlier this year, the FCA censured Equity for Growth (Securities), which had approved financial promotions for third-party firms, including Hunter Jones, that the regulator deemed "unfair, unclear and misleading."