TRUSTEES for a North East firm who supplied carpets to the Queen have been banned after “serious and persistent” failings were identified in their handling of a £35m pension pot.
Watchdogs said Robert Angus Hill, Simon Christopher Ragg and Unite union member Nicholas John Halton were responsible for “some of the most worrying examples of mismanagement” they had ever witnessed.
The Pensions Regulator (PR) criticised the handling of pension funds at the Durham-based Hugh Mackay Carpets, who used to manufacture carpets for the Queen.
Now, after a two-year investigation, the panel has prohibited the three trustees from holding the position ever again.
Watchdogs from the PR found that trustees breached investment regulations by investing more than £35m into property or property-related investments. And they also ruled that the pension scheme had been used to repay bank loans totalling more than £21m which were secured on property assets.
It’s also predicted that the scheme’s 450 members would not receive “the full level of their promised benefits” with many losing more than 10% of what they were expecting.
Last night the regulator’s chief executive Bill Galvin said: “Fortunately, incidences of this kind are rare. The vast majority of pension trustees take a very different approach to discharging their duties.
“Educating and supporting trustees is at the heart of what we do, but we’re ready to intervene directly where pension savings are placed at risk.
