A property investment company has been wound up by the High Court on the grounds of public interest after an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Gilbert Webb Estates Limited marketed residential-sized plots of undeveloped land at a site in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, to the public as an investment opportunity.

The investigation found that the company was part of a land banking scheme previously carried out by Complete Building Systems Limited which targeted investors who were misled into buying near-worthless plots of land by claiming investing in land was more secure than pension plans.

The victims of their action mainly consisted of pensioners including recovering cancer sufferers lost out financially said Company Investigations Supervisors, Chris Mayhew.

“This was a bare-faced scam on pensioners who have lost out financially and otherwise, unlike those behind the company who peddled near worthless plots of land to the public for investment,” he said.

“Contrary to the company’s claims, the only collective expertise was the skill to part people from their money.”

Gilbert Webb Estates Limited, which falsely claimed that it was FCA regulated, stated that it had over 100 years of collective experience in property acquisition, development and building and those investors could expect short term gains between 200-400 per cent.

The investigation found that £959,000 of the £1.5 million taken from investors was withdrawn in cash from the company’s accounts.

Chris Mayhew said that the decision to wind up Gilbert Webb Estates Limited shows how strong the Insolvency Service’s powers can be and hopes this will act as a warning to other firms attempting to do the same thing.

“The Insolvency Service has strong enforcement powers and we will not hesitate to use them to take action against rotten companies whose activities, as here, can devastate lives in particular older and vulnerable investors who may suffer emotionally and psychologically from the impact of incurring significant financial loss and lose confidence to manage their own affairs.”