Buy-to-Let Developer Jailed for Six Months

March 5, 2019
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) led an investigation and ultimately a successful case against a buy-to-let developer who ran unlawful property schemes and also mislead varied investors in African Land and Reforestation Projects. Good news that a continuation of cleaning up the industry is taking place to route out the illegal nonprofessionals.
Sentence passed was 6 months which was reduced from 12 months following the accused, Mr Robert McKendrick, admitting to breaching the freezing orders and providing an account of where the money was held (hope is that much of the investors money will be returned as possible).

McKendrick was said to have mislead investors and operated and promoted unlawfully to gain investors and monies. Also, in breach of a freezing order, he had appointed his wife to manage his portfolio of buy to let properties at a higher rate of commission compared to his previous letting agent payments made. The income from rental was placed in his wife’s’ account and this was not disclosed.

Mark Steward, Exec. Director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, was quoted as saying: “In this case, McKendrick misled investors and then, in contempt of court, failed to comply with court orders requiring him to properly account for the losses.

The FCA will ensure that defendants who mislead investors are held to account to the fullest extent possible.”

Full story available to read on the Mortgage Solutions website.

EAN Breaking News

Breaking News from the team at Estate Agent Networking. Have a new story to share with us? Then please get in contact today! When and where we can we will refer to third party websites with a 'live link back' where news was released first.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Over 1.2m homes sold across the UK

The latest analysis of Government transaction data by GetAgent.co.uk has revealed that, despite widespread perceptions that 2025 was a difficult year for the property market, more than 1.2m homes sold across the UK, marking a 9.3% increase on the previous year. GetAgent analysed Government data on UK property transactions to estimate how many homes sold…
Read More →
Breaking News

Planning reform alone will not fix the UK’s housing crisis

Propertymark has published a new position paper, Meeting UK house demand, moving beyond the planning system, warning that focusing solely on reforming the planning system will not deliver the number of homes the UK urgently needs. While planning reform is frequently cited as the primary solution to the housing shortage, Propertymark’s analysis shows that changes…
Read More →
Breaking News

One in three mortgage hunting FTBs has at least 25% deposit

While higher loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages dominate first-time buyer demand a significant minority are seeking higher deposit deals, fresh data from Moneyfactscompare.co.uk can reveal. Of those looking for fixed term deals on moneyfactscompare.co.uk: Almost one in three (30%) first-time buyers are opting for 90% LTV mortgages, and a further 12% are looking at 95% LTV options. This…
Read More →
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 3/2/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Premium estate agency unveils ambitious plans to accelerate international expansion Fine & Country, the premium estate agency brand renowned for its distinctive marketing and high-end property expertise, has announced plans to significantly expand its international footprint as part of its long-term growth strategy. Over the past…
Read More →
how to present your property for sale
Breaking News

Nationwide House Price Index for January 2026 – Industry Reaction

Nationwide House Price Index for January 2026. The latest index shows that: House prices increased by 0.3% between December 2025 and January 2026. This reversed the -0.4% monthly decline seen between November and December of last year. Annual growth sat at 1% in January 2026, with this annual rate of growth increasing from 0.6% in…
Read More →
Breaking News

House price growth edges higher in January

Slight rise in annual house price growth to 1.0% House prices were up 0.3% month on month Continued improvement in affordability helped drive first-time buyer activity in 2025 Headlines Jan-26 Dec-25 Monthly Index* 544.9 543.4 Monthly Change* 0.3% -0.4% Annual Change 1.0% 0.6% Average Price (not seasonally adjusted) £270,873 £271,068 * Seasonally adjusted figure (note…
Read More →