Rowanmoor SIPP Claim — Were You Mis-sold? How to Claim Compensation in 2026

Who Was Rowanmoor Personal Pensions?

Rowanmoor Personal Pensions Limited was a Gloucestershire-based Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) operator that administered pension arrangements for thousands of clients across the UK. For much of its history, Rowanmoor was considered a legitimate and professionally-run pension provider. The problems arose from its business model during the 2010s, when Rowanmoor accepted introductions from unregulated third-party firms and placed those clients' pension savings into investments that had no place inside a retirement fund.

Rowanmoor went into administration on 25 August 2022, with Interpath Advisory appointed as Joint Administrators. The collapse followed years of mounting client complaints about the underlying investments held inside their SIPPs. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme declared Rowanmoor in default in December 2023, formally opening the claims window for affected investors.

What Went Wrong — How Were Clients Mis-sold?

Rowanmoor's clients were typically approached by unregulated introducers — often through cold calls, online advertisements, or seminars — who persuaded them that they could earn significantly better returns on their pension savings by transferring to a SIPP. The introducer would then refer the client to an FCA-regulated financial adviser, who recommended the transfer and earned a commission. Rowanmoor then accepted the SIPP arrangement and, critically, accepted the underlying investments that the client had been led to invest in.

The core investments held inside Rowanmoor SIPPs included:

The FCA began warning Rowanmoor about its compliance standards as early as 2016, identifying concerns about due diligence and client suitability assessment. Despite these warnings, Rowanmoor continued accepting non-standard investments until its eventual administration in August 2022.

The Legal Basis for Your Claim

There are two primary legal bases for a Rowanmoor claim:

Do You Have a Rowanmoor Claim? — 8 Questions

You are likely to have a viable claim if any of the following apply:

• You transferred a workplace pension, final salary pension, or personal pension to a Rowanmoor SIPP
• The transfer was recommended by a financial adviser or you were approached by a cold caller or introducer
• Your Rowanmoor SIPP held investments in The Resort Group (Cape Verde), overseas property, or other non-standard assets
• You have not received the returns you were promised on those investments
• Your pension savings are now locked in illiquid investments you cannot access
• You were not clearly told your investments were unregulated or outside FSCS protection
• Your financial adviser received a commission that was not disclosed to you
• You were not asked in detail about your retirement income needs or attitude to investment risk

How Much Can You Claim from Rowanmoor?

The maximum FSCS payment is £85,000 per eligible claim. Based on the estimated total liability of £124 million and typical case values in similar SIPP mis-selling cases, the average Rowanmoor claim is likely to be in the range of £50,000–£85,000 — though individual cases vary significantly depending on the amount invested and the current value of the underlying investments.

Where your total loss exceeds £85,000, we can pursue the balance through direct legal action against any solvent parties remaining in the chain — such as IFAs who recommended the transfer and who still have professional indemnity insurance.

The Resort Group — Understanding the Investment That Failed

The Resort Group PLC developed hotel and resort properties in Cape Verde, an archipelago off the coast of west Africa. UK investors were sold fractional interests in Cape Verde resort properties with promised annual returns of 10–20%. These properties were placed inside SIPPs — including Rowanmoor SIPPs — often on the recommendation of unregulated introducers and IFAs who received undisclosed commissions.

The promised returns were never consistently paid. The underlying properties were illiquid — there was no functioning secondary market for investors to exit. Many investors have been unable to access their pension savings for years. The FSCS default of Rowanmoor in December 2023 was in large part driven by the volume of complaints from clients who held The Resort Group investments inside their Rowanmoor SIPPs.

If you held a Resort Group investment inside a Rowanmoor SIPP, you have a strong case under both the SIPP operator gatekeeper duty and, where an IFA recommended the arrangement, against that adviser's estate or FSCS default.

Time Limits — Why You Must Act Now

The FSCS declared Rowanmoor in default in December 2023. The FSCS claims window is open now. There is no formal deadline to file an FSCS claim against a defaulted firm — the FSCS does not operate a strict filing window in the same way as court limitation periods. However, the following time limits are critical:

• Claims against IFAs who advised the transfer: 6 years from the date of advice (primary limitation period), or 3 years from your date of knowledge under section 14A of the Limitation Act 1980. For advice given before December 2018, the primary period may have passed — the section 14A knowledge-based extension is critical.
• Claims against Rowanmoor via FSCS: No strict limitation period, but FSCS expects claims to be filed promptly. The earlier you file, the sooner you receive your assessment.

The practical reason to act now is competition. Currently, relatively few solicitors and claims management companies are actively marketing Rowanmoor claims. As awareness grows — and it will — the market will become more crowded and client acquisition costs will rise. The clients who act first receive the fastest FSCS assessments.

Frequently Asked Questions — Rowanmoor SIPP Claims