9+ years dealing exclusively with claims arising from negligent financial advice or administration relating to pensions and investments.
If your pension was transferred into a SIPP and invested in The Resort Group’s Cape Verde hotels, you may be able to make a Resort Group SIPP claim against the adviser who recommended it, or the SIPP operator that accepted it. The investments were unregulated, hard to sell, and in many cases now valued at a fraction of what investors paid, or nothing.
This guide explains who The Resort Group is, how the Cape Verde scheme worked, the latest news, the most common Resort Group Cape Verde complaints, what ombudsmen have found, and how to claim.
Key Takeaways
- The Resort Group SIPP claims are usually made against the financial adviser or the SIPP operator, not The Resort Group itself.
- Many Resort Group investments were fractional, unregulated and illiquid, and some have been valued at nil, which is why investors are seeking compensation.
- The FSCS has been investigating the Dunas Beach and Llana Beach resorts since 2020, and ombudsman decisions have upheld complaints against financial advisers and trustees.
Who are The Resort Group?
The Resort Group (TRG) is a property developer known for hotel resorts on the island of Sal in Cape Verde, including Tortuga Beach, Dunas Beach and Llana Beach. The Resort Group PLC is registered in Gibraltar and was founded in 2007. TRG sold hotel rooms and fractional shares in rooms to UK investors, many of whom paid using money transferred from their pensions into SIPPs (our 2019 report).
TRG set up a telesales operation in Derby, which became the subject of a BBC Panorama investigation, and was linked to an unregulated “pension review” business, First Review Pension Services, which arranged transfers into SIPPs.
Who Owns The Resort Group UK Limited?
Companies House records show The Resort Group UK Limited (company number 05254608) was incorporated on 8 October 2004 as Worldwide Property Portfolio (UK) Limited, renamed in 2007, registered in Derby, and dissolved on 29 July 2014. Because it was dissolved before the UK’s persons-with-significant-control register began, no owner is listed (Companies House record). The wider group trades through The Resort Group PLC in Gibraltar; Pension Justice’s 2019 reporting names Rob Jarrett as its founder.
How The Resort Group Cape Verde Scheme Worked
- SIPP transfers: advisers, many not FCA-authorised, recommended savers move existing pensions into a SIPP, then invest most of it in TRG.
- Fractional ownership: to reach people with smaller pension pots, TRG sold fractions of rooms (for example, a quarter of a studio apartment), often held through UK companies rather than direct legal title.
- Promised income: investors were offered fixed early payments (one ombudsman decision describes a 7% annual “special discount” for two years) followed by rental income from the hotels (FOS decision DRN-3187120).
- SIPP operators: providers that held TRG assets include Rowanmoor, Carey Pensions (now Options UK) and London & Colonial, with CIB/Real SIPP among the advisers that recommended the scheme.
When Are SIPPs a Risky Pension Investment?
SIPPs were designed for experienced investors who want to choose their own investments. For someone with no investment experience, moving a pension into a SIPP to hold a single overseas hotel room is rarely suitable. The Resort Group investments were unregulated, so the products themselves weren’t protected by the FSCS — and no competent adviser should have recommended them as most of a retail investor’s pension.
SIPP operators could have refused to accept these assets. Two in particular — Rowanmoor and Carey Pensions — are frequently criticised for weak due diligence. Rowanmoor has since entered administration, and Carey Pensions was taken over by Options UK Personal Pensions LLP (Carey Pensions claims).
How Advisers Sold the Scheme
Resort Group SIPP sales relied on familiar high-pressure tactics, many of which the FCA now lists as pension scam warning signs:
- Cold calling with urgency (“one-time offer,” “expiring today”).
- Free pension reviews that manufactured a problem and offered the SIPP as the solution.
- Glossy brochures and celebrity-style endorsements that lowered investors’ guard.
- Encouraging transfers out of secure schemes into high-risk SIPPs promising high short-term returns.
What appeared on the surface to be a reliable and appealing investment led to unsuspecting investors being lured into the scheme, often to their detriment.
What happened to the money invested in the SIPPs?
Rooms were marketed at multiples of their likely market value, and many investors never saw the property before their pension money was transferred. Many have not received the rental income promised, cannot find a buyer, and are left with an illiquid asset producing little or no income, while still paying SIPP charges. If this describes your overseas property investment, you may have grounds to claim.
Can You Make a Resort Group SIPP Claim?
You may be able to claim if a regulated adviser recommended the SIPP transfer and TRG investment, or a SIPP operator accepted it without proper due diligence. Claims are usually made against:
| Who You Claim Against | Where the Claim Goes | Maximum Award |
| Adviser or SIPP operator still trading | Firm first, then the Financial Ombudsman Service | £455,000 (acts on/after 1 April 2019; complaints referred from 1 April 2026) or £205,000 for earlier acts |
| Adviser or SIPP operator that has failed | Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) | £85,000 per person, per firm |
| Trustee of a small self-administered scheme (SSAS) | The Pensions Ombudsman | No fixed cap (directions to remedy the loss) |
What Is a Capital Reimbursement Settlement?
A capital reimbursement settlement is a compensation outcome that reimburses the capital your pension lost, so you’re put back in the position you would have been in without the unsuitable investment. In Resort Group cases, this typically means valuing the TRG holding (sometimes at a nominal £1 where no buyer exists), comparing your pension today with what it would have been worth, and paying the difference into your pension, as the Pensions Ombudsman directed in PO-25984.
See signs you’ve been mis-sold a SIPP and our mis-sold SIPP transfer claims page, or read how the SIPP claim process works.
The Resort Group SIPP Claims Phone Number
The Resort Group itself doesn’t handle compensation claims. For help with a Resort Group SIPP claim, call Pension Justice free on 0800 014 8275 or send an enquiry.
If you’re selling a full-ownership Dunas Beach or Llana Beach property after receiving FSCS compensation, the FSCS asks you to contact its recoveries team (Recoveries@fscs.org.uk or 0800 678 1100); see the FSCS Dunas & Llana page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common Resort Group Cape Verde complaints?
The most common complaints are delayed or missing rental income, little or no resale market for fractional units, nil or heavily reduced valuations inside SIPPs, and uncertain legal title to the rooms.
Can I claim compensation for a Resort Group SIPP investment?
You may be able to if a regulated adviser recommended the transfer and investment, or a SIPP operator accepted it without proper checks. Claims usually go to the firm first, then the Financial Ombudsman Service, or to the FSCS if the firm has failed.
What is the latest news on The Resort Group?
The FSCS has been investigating investments at Dunas Beach and Llana Beach since July 2020 and issued an update for SIPP and SSAS holders on 26 August 2025. The Pensions Ombudsman upheld a Dunas Beach complaint against Rowanmoor Trustees in February 2024.
Who owns The Resort Group UK Limited?
Companies House shows The Resort Group UK Limited, company number 05254608, was dissolved on 29 July 2014 and lists no persons with significant control. The wider group operates through The Resort Group PLC, registered in Gibraltar.
What is the Resort Group SIPP claims phone number?
The Resort Group does not handle compensation claims. For help with a claim, you can call Pension Justice free on 0800 014 8275.
What is a capital reimbursement settlement?
It is compensation that reimburses the capital your pension lost because of an unsuitable investment, putting you back where you would have been. It is usually paid into your pension after the investment is valued.
Is The Resort Group investment protected by the FSCS?
The investments themselves were unregulated, so they are not directly protected. However, the FSCS may compensate you if the regulated adviser or SIPP operator that handled your pension has failed.
