Broker loans firm vanishes

The Dorset company at the centre of the broker loans scandal has disappeared and new broker Funds4Business is running out of the same offices. ​ GatewayFinance.co.uk, which was the subject of an exclusive probe by The Publican last year, was accused by licensees of leaving them out of pocket after promised loans failed to arrive.

Licensees claimed they had been promised a loan or mortgage, paid a fee of £350, and had not received the deal they were promised.

Some licensees also paid arrangement fees of nearly £2,000, while others paid for a valuation costing up to £1,600 and said they were not provided with the deal they were promised.

The Publican also heard from licensees who were guaranteed a refund, which failed to arrive.

The GatewayFinance.co.uk website and contact number are no longer working and all attempts by The Publican to email or phone the directors have proved fruitless.

GatewayFinance.co.uk went into a voluntary arrangement in May to trade itself out of financial problems.

The directors of the company included Gary and Clive Thomas.

However, research has revealed that another broker called Funds4Business is trading from the same offices in Wimborne, Dorset and Gary Thomas is named as a director.

Funds4Business is now also facing scrutiny following concerns about its practices.

Ivan Hancock, spokesman from Dorset Trading Standards, told The Publican: "Our interest in its trading practices is ongoing."

Despite attempts to contact Funds4Business no-one was available for comment.

Licensee Beverley Good of the Prince Alfred in Upper Hale, Surrey, called Funds4Business for a loan at the end of 2005 and paid a £250 upfront fee.

She said: "We rang them to see if we could get a loan to buy our pub.

"We answered all the details and they said the £250 was refundable. They said they could not help us and did not return the money."