RBS Rights Issue Litigation
We set out below recent updates and information to inform Claimants and interested members of the public about matters relating to the RBS Rights Issue Litigation:
Message for SG Group Claimants, March 2022
Due to the public nature of this message, it cannot contain information that is privileged or otherwise confidential to the SG Claimants as a group.
That said, we are following up on the update given to the SG Claimants in December 2021 when we anticipated making a payment of the final amount due to verified SG Claimants by the end of March 2022.
The ability to make that final payment reflected the resolution of various matters which we have described more fully in our privileged and confidential communications with the SG Claimants. Some of those matters involving litigation with third parties have taken longer to resolve.
Nonetheless, we are now in a position to arrange what we expect will be the final payment, with a view to that payment reaching all eligible SG Claimants as soon possible. The process should be completed around the end of March 2022. By the time cheques have been prepared and processed for individual Claimants it is unlikely that these will reach them before mid-April 2022. We will be writing to each Claimant with further information about their specific receipts in due course.
Once the remaining more minor matters that we are resolving have finally been completed, we will provide further information as to the overall outcome of the Rights Issue Litigation for the Claimants.
Message for SG Group Claimants, August 2020
Due to the public nature of this update, you will understand that it cannot contain any confidential or privileged information. If you are an SG Claimant and you have not received our August 2020 Update by the week commencing 7 September 2020 then please do make contact with us.
We have been making and continue to make interim payments to SG Claimants who have verified and confirmed their payment details to us.
We have sent a number of requests to all the remaining Retail Claimants who have not yet been fully verified and from whom we need further information. If you are still in correspondence with us in relation to the verification of your claim and you have an outstanding information request from us, please ensure you respond to this as soon as possible.
Message for SG Group Claimants, March 2020
Due to the public nature of this update, you will understand that it cannot contain any confidential or privileged information. If you are an SG Claimant and you have not received our March 2020 Update by the week commencing 4 April 2020 then please do make contact with us.
We have been making and continue to make a first interim payment to specified groups of SG Claimants who have verified and confirmed their payment details to us. The first group of SG Claimants received their first interim payment in March 2018. The second group of SG Claimants received their first interim payment in August 2018. The third group received their first interim payment in April 2019. The fourth group received their first interim payment in January 2020.
We have sent a number of requests to all the remaining Retail Claimants who have not yet been fully verified and from whom we need further information. If you are still in correspondence with us in relation to the verification of your claim and you have an outstanding information request from us, please ensure you respond to this as soon as possible.
Message for SG Group Claimants, October 2019
Due to the public nature of this update, you will understand that it cannot contain any confidential or privileged information. If you are an SG Claimant and you have not received our October 2019 Update by the week commencing 4 November 2019 then please do make contact with us.
We have been making and continue to make a first interim payment to specified groups of SG Claimants who have verified and confirmed their payment details to us. The first group of SG Claimants received their first interim payment in March 2018. The second group of SG Claimants received their first interim payment in August 2018. The third group received their first interim payment in April 2019. Given that some further SG Claimants have since verified and/or confirmed the necessary information required for payment we are likely to make a further interim payment to those additional Claimants who have not yet received an interim payment in January 2020.
We have sent a number of requests to all the remaining Retail Claimants who have not yet been fully verified and from whom we need further information. If you are still in correspondence with us in relation to the verification of your claim and you have an outstanding information request from us, please ensure you respond to this as soon as possible.
Message for SG Group Claimants, March 2019
Due to the public nature of this update, you will understand that it cannot contain any confidential or privileged information. If you are an SG Claimant and you have not received our March 2019 Update by the week commencing 8 April 2019 then please do make contact with us.
We have been making and continue to make a first interim payment to specified groups of SG Claimants who have verified and confirmed their payment details to us. The first group of SG Claimants received their first interim payment in March 2018. The second group of SG Claimants received their first interim payment in August 2018. We are in the process of making a first interim payment to a third group of SG Claimants. For the avoidance of doubt, any SG Claimants who have not yet benefitted from an interim payment will still be entitled to an interim payment (provided they are fully verified and have confirmed their payment details to us).
We have sent a number of requests to all the remaining Retail Claimants who have not yet been fully verified and from whom we need further information. If you are still in correspondence with us in relation to the verification of your claim and you have an outstanding information request from us, please ensure you respond to this as soon as possible.
Message for SG Group Claimants, 8 October 2018
This is a further brief update for the SG Claimants in the RBS Rights Issue Litigation.
Due to the public nature of this update, you will understand that it cannot contain any confidential or privileged information. If you are a Claimant and you have not received our October Update by the week commencing 15 October 2018 then please do make contact with us.
We have now successfully completed our second interim payment to all Claimants who have (i) successfully and fully verified their claim (ii) settled at 82p per share and (iii) whose contact information had been confirmed to us. If we have previously confirmed to you that you had provided us with sufficient information for us to submit your claim to RBS for verification and you have confirmed your current postal address to us, but you have not yet received an interim payment, this is because your claim has not yet been paid out by RBS. Please rest assured that we are doing all we can to ensure that RBS verify and pay out claims as soon as possible, in the meantime we are very grateful for Claimants’ patience. For the avoidance of doubt, any SG Claimants who have not yet benefitted from an interim payment will still be entitled to an interim payment in the third round of interim payments (provided they are fully verified and have confirmed their payment details to us).
We have sent a number of requests to all the remaining Retail Claimants who have not yet been fully verified and from whom we need further information. If you are still in correspondence with us in relation to the verification of your claim and you have an outstanding information request from us, please ensure you respond to this as soon as possible.
Sunday Times Business and Money article, 19 August 2018
On the front page of the edition of the Business and Money section of the Sunday Times on 19 August 2018 an article sought to comment on the legal proceedings brought by Manx on behalf of the SG Claimants against those former Claimant members of the SG Group who left without paying their contribution to the legal costs that had been incurred on their behalf at that time.
The article carries a suggestion that the claim is being brought against the former Claimants (now the “Defendants“) personally by Mr Trevor Hemmings. In fact, it is being brought by Manx Capital, which is a Claimant exercising its rights and responsibilities as the delegated manager of the litigation, through a board that does not include Mr Hemmings. He is simply the owner of it, as one of many companies in a corporate group.
The Sunday Times article also contained a quote which was attributed to a source “close” to one of the Defendants alleging that the claim by Manx was for the former Claimants “not paying the bills that [Manx itself] is disputing“. This is factually incorrect. The true position is that Manx is claiming from the former Claimants their proportion of legal costs which have been incurred, paid, and which are not disputed.
If the liability of the former Claimants is established in respect of these legal costs, as we believe it will be, then at that time the Court can assess the full amount of their liability. That may (or may not) include additional contingent elements that have not currently been paid because they are being disputed. In the meantime it was therefore quite wrong of the Sunday Times to publish comments from the Defendants that our claim is simply for (or is “critically” dependent on) bills that are being disputed.
Regrettably the Sunday Times did not inform us that they intended to run this inaccurate quote, which we consider to have been sourced from the Defendants’ team without giving us the opportunity to correct it or even comment on it at any time before it was published.
We hope this clarifies matters for all Claimants, including those who have understandably been enquiring about this Sunday Times article. We have asked the Sunday Times to act responsibly and correct it.
Update re the above, 11 January 2019
Signature Litigation and Manx Capital subsequently complained to IPSO about the above article, following which The Sunday Times agreed to add the following wording to the bottom of the article:
“Following publication of this article, Manx Capital has told The Sunday Times that the source quoted was incorrect in suggesting that Manx was suing the former claimants over the same bills as it is itself disputing. Manx has confirmed that the legal claim by them referred to in the article relates to around £9 million of costs and expenses that are not disputed anywhere.”
The IPSO ruling on this case can be found here.
Message for SG Group Claimants, July 2018
This is a further brief update for the SG Claimants in the RBS Rights Issue Litigation.
Due to the public nature of this update, you will understand that it cannot contain any confidential or privileged information. If you are a claimant and you have not received our recent update dated 29 June 2018, then please do make contact with us.
We are now in the process of making an interim payment to the next tranche of qualifying 82p SG Claimants who have now successfully verified their claim and provided contact information (i.e. those Claimants that have (a) verified their shares (b) provided relevant contact information and (c) who did not receive an interim payment in the previous round). This payment should be with those Claimants in the next several weeks. If you do not receive an interim payment, this will be due to the fact that either:
(i) We have not yet received enough information to verify your claim – if you have received our correspondence requesting that you provide us with additional verification materials to assist us with verifying your claim, but have not done so, please provide us with supporting evidence as soon as possible; OR
(ii) We did not have written confirmation of your current postal address, and therefore were unable to send you a cheque – if you have not previously confirmed to us your postal address, or sent us correspondence by post, please contact us to confirm your current postal address; OR
(iii) RBS have not yet confirmed that your claim is verified, and therefore we have not yet received payment in respect of your claim and we were not able to make an interim payment.
If you have already received confirmation that you have provided us with sufficient information to allow us to submit your claim to RBS for verification and you have provided us with confirmation of your postal address we will not require any further action from you at the present time.
Once this latest interim payment has been made, we will have made an interim payment to a substantial proportion of the SG Claimants. For the reasons set out above, we have not yet been able to make an interim payment to all SG Claimants at this time. Please be assured that we are working hard to ensure that all issues relating to verification and payment are resolved for every claimant to allow us to make further payments, and we will keep you updated.
Article in the Mail on Sunday, 1 April 2018
In an article in the print edition of the Mail on Sunday today it states that: “Signature Litigation, administering the claim, has estimated that half the £200 million will be left for investors after costs.” We have not made or provided an estimation as to that amount, because it is impossible to know the gross amount until all the shares are verified and all costs and liabilities, including undisclosed liabilities of the Action Group Company, are known and resolved. We are continuing with our work to resolve the liabilities and finalise the amounts of further payments due to Claimants. Further information will be provided in updates to the Claimants. The Mail on Sunday has updated its online article accordingly.
Message for SG Group Claimants, 29 March 2018
This is a brief update for the Claimants in the RBS Rights Issue Litigation that are members of the “SG Group” whose claims were originally brought through the RBoS Shareholders Action Group Limited and are now managed on behalf of the Claimants by Manx Capital Partners Limited.
Due to the public nature of this update, you will understand that it cannot contain any confidential or privileged information. If you are a claimant and you have not received our recent update dated 23 March 2018 by Easter, then please do make contact with us.
As previously explained, we are in the process of making interim payments to a large number of claimants. If you do not receive an interim payment, this will be due to the fact that either:
(i) We have not yet received the verification information we have requested – if you have received our correspondence requesting that you provide us with additional verification materials to assist us with verifying your claim, but have not done so, please provide us with supporting evidence as soon as possible and by no later than 30 April 2018; OR
(ii) We did not have written confirmation of your current postal address, and therefore were unable to send you a cheque – if you have not previously confirmed to us your postal address, or sent us correspondence by post, please contact us to confirm your current postal address; OR
(iii) RBS have not yet confirmed that your claim is verified, and therefore we have not yet received payment in respect of your claim and we were not able to make an interim payment – if you have already received confirmation that you have provided us with sufficient information to allow us to submit your claim to RBS for verification and you have provided us with confirmation of your postal address we will not require any further action from you at the present time.
We regret not having been able to make an interim payment to all Claimants at this time. Please be assured that we are working hard to ensure that all issues relating to verification and payment are resolved for every claimant to allow us to make further payments, and we will keep you updated.
If you have any queries about what is required from you, please call 020 3818 3590.
We ask that you bear with us in the meantime.
Article in the Financial Times, 19 March 2018
In an article appearing in the Financial Times newspaper today, reference is made to the settlement of £200 million received by members of the group of Claimants represented by Signature Litigation LLP (the “SG Claimants”).
The article refers to the settlement that took place almost a year ago, which was a reference to the settlement for the other groups. The reference in the article to 82p per share has been achieved by a majority but not all of the SG Claimants, as the Claimants themselves know.
However, the article referred to the verification process being undertaken by this firm (as part of the overall settlement process) and said that some institutional shareholders had already received compensation, whereas retail investors had not. That is not correct.
As the SG Claimants know from the newsletters and updates that we have sent to them, no Claimant, whether institutional or retail, in the SG Group, has received any compensation, for the reasons we have explained.
However, as we have advised all Claimants, we intend to make an interim payment to all Claimants, institutional and retail, who have so far verified. This payment should be with our Claimant clients by Easter.
The article also stated in its headline that the ongoing difficulties in verification and settlement had been caused by disputes between “rival investor claimants“. As Claimants will know, the legal proceedings in relation to this matter are ongoing between Manx Capital Partners Limited (as the delegated agents and managers of the matter) and the RBoS Shareholders Action Group Limited (which was the former agent, but which has never been an investor or Claimant in the Rights Issue litigation).
We have informed the FT of the inaccuracies in their article and they have amended their website copy accordingly, here.
– Update 21 March 2018
The Financial Times has also printed a correction today on the Letters page, as follows:
Correction
- A headline on March 19 wrongly suggested there was a dispute between RBS investor claimants who are represented by Signature Litigation LLP: RBS payout stalled by rival investor claimants. The dispute was between RBS Shareholders Action Group, a former agent for investors, and the current agent, Manx Capital Partners. None of Signature Litigation’s institutional or retail investor clients has yet received compensation, due to difficulties in the verification and settlement processes.
Message for SG Group Claimants, 20 December 2017
This is a brief update for the Claimants in the RBS Rights Issue Litigation that are members of the “SG Group” whose claims were originally brought through the RBoS Shareholders Action Group Limited and are now managed on the behalf of the Claimants by Manx Capital Partners Limited.
Due to the public nature of this update, you will understand that it cannot contain any confidential or privileged information. However, we can confirm that we have now written to all Claimants with a detailed update which should be received by each Claimant shortly.
To the extent that you do not receive the written update by 28 February 2018 then please do make contact with us.
If we have written to you requesting that you provide us with evidence to verify your claim and you have not already done so, please send copies of the relevant documents to us as soon as possible. Documents can be sent to SG-GroupVerification@signaturelitigation.com or by post to “FAO Verification, Signature Litigation, 138 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BT.” If you have any queries about the information required, please call 020 3818 3590.
We ask that you bear with us in the meantime.
