July deadline for split cap claims

The £144m compensation fund for the 50,000 victims of the split-capital investment trust débâcle was officially launched yesterday, giving investors a three-month deadline to file applications for recompense.

The £144m compensation fund for the 50,000 victims of the split-capital investment trust débâcle was officially launched yesterday, giving investors a three-month deadline to file applications for recompense.

The fund will officially stop accepting applications at 4.30pm on 18 July.

Application forms are to be sent out next week to the 10,000 people who have already registered with the scheme. However, thousands more forms will be sent out speculatively, to lists of names found on the registers of qualifying split-cap trusts. Several brokers are also assisting in the hunt to find all eligible claimants.

Once the doors close in July, the majority of the £144m fund will be divided amongst the qualifying applicants, with compensation offers to be made in the autumn. Initial payments will then follow before the end of the year, with a final supplementary payment made in 2006.

Mike Ellis, the former finance director of HBOS who has been appointed to run the fund, said individuals who invested in zero dividend preference shares, within one of the 86 qualifying trusts, between 1 July 2000 and 30 June 2002, will be made an offer.

However, investors will have to have made a loss of at least £250 to qualify. Investors who accept their offer will have to sign release forms agreeing to not pursue any further action against the companies.

For more information about the fund, visit www.funddistribution.org.