Tiuta finally gives up the ghost

It is believed the lender is being wound down after failing to secure any replacement funding lines.

Tiuta said the Financial Services Authority had given approval to place Tiuta into administration and the lender has issued the following statement: "The process has yet to be completed and this step has been taken to preserve the integrity of the underlying business, the reputation of the Tiuta brand and also the lending platform."

It comes five months after Connaught's decision to wind down Income Fund Series 2 which then supplied Tiuta with part of its funding lines.

In March this year Connaught decided to suspend Income Fund Series 1 which was Tiuta's other major funding line and in June a third Connaught fund was forced to close as investors pulled their money out.

Peter Hollis of KPF Advisory was appointed Connaught's administrator on the 18th of this month pursuant to a notice of appointment of an administrator filed by the company’s board of directors the same day.

A statment from Connaught said: "The Administration Order provides a moratorium to the Company which will enable the Administrator to formulate Proposals for dealing with the Company’s business and assets and to refer to the Investors in the surviving Investment funds in which the Company has an interest, as to their wishes for the future of these funds.

"The Administrator will also be investigating the role that the Company and its Directors have played in the collapse of 2 funds previously held within its portfolio."

In April this year the FSA issued a note to investors in Connaught Income Fund Series 1 after it failed to pay the scheduled quarterly interest payment on 13th April 2012.

The FSA originally laid out its concerns about the fund in May last year warning it was misleading investors.

But before this Tiuta suffered a spate of high profile departures in 2011 when former chief executive, George Patellis, left the company at the end of February followed in April by Guy Garrard, head of business development, Stuart Brumhill, head of marketing, and regional account managers Gordon Rae and Jim Baker.

In May that year Tiuta's head of operations Anita Kirkbright and redemptions manager Debbie Cowlard also left the short-term lender and Gareth Lewis quit Tiuta last year after just four months to join rival bridging lender Precise Mortgages.