A TRUSTEE at the centre of a pension fund probe last night denied a watchdog’s claims he had mismanaged a £35m pot and said he “never gambled with people’s money”.
Robert Hill was criticised by the Pensions Regulator, which said his handling of funds at the Hugh Mackay Retirement Benefit Scheme was “one of the most worrying examples of mismanagement” it had ever seen.
He was banned from holding the position ever again alongside fellow trustees Simon Christopher Ragg and Nicholas John Halton.
But last night the 61-year-old, who lives in Wolsingham, County Durham, said he had done everything in good faith and:
Branded the Pensions Regulator’s final verdict a “disgrace” and said that he had been “hung out to dry” despite acting in the best interests of the scheme’s 450 members;
Said that investments in seven properties had stood to make the pension scheme an annual revenue stream of around £1.1m but a “fire sale” of properties had plunged the scheme into difficulties;
Apologised to the pension fund members but said his reputation had been left in tatters after officers raided his home in an early-morning operation to analyse his books.
Last week the Pensions Regulator (PR) released a report in which it criticised the handling of pension funds at Durham-based Hugh Mackay Carpets, which used to manufacture carpets for the Queen.
It said 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 totaling more than £21m which were secured on property assets.
It was also claimed 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.
Mr Hill told The Journal that the scheme had invested millions of pounds in properties in London, Birmingham and the North East.
These included sites in Durham, Northallerton, Swalwell and Newcastle that all had “blue chip” tenants whose rent would feed the scheme over the next two decades and ensure its future.
