Following recent announcements by the FCA to propose permanent changes of the mass-marketing of speculative illiquid securities, the decision has been made for Crowdlords to cease all FCA regulated activity with immediate effect.

Although Crowdlords will no longer be an Appointed Representative of ShareIn Ltd, who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (603332), the existing platform will remain in place to allow you to access your account to monitor the progress of investments and receive updates.

As investments come to an end, the resultant returns and any return of capital will continue to be made via the existing platform. As the authorised and regulated entity, ShareIn Ltd will oversee this.

We understand that you may have some questions or concerns and so we’ve included some frequently asked questions in an FAQ available below. However, if your query or concern is not covered then please get in touch as follows:

Many thanks for your support

Crowdlords Team

I have investments on the platform, can I get my money back?

All current investments made via the CrowdLords platform remain valid and will continue under the terms set out when you invested. ShareIn Ltd will work with CrowdLords to ensure payments will continue to be paid, as appropriate, via the platform to your portfolio e-wallet.

I have recently invested via the platform what happens next?

If you have recently invested via the platform and the investment was completed, this investment will continue under the terms set out when you invested.

If you have recently invested and the investment has not been completed, then we will return your funds to your e-wallet, from here you will be able to drawdown funds to your own bank account.

If the investment was an ISA investment, funds will be returned to your IFISA e-wallet from where you can either drawdown funds to your bank account (please note you will lose your ISA wrapper) or transfer funds to a new ISA provider (keeping money in the ISA wrapper).

How will you update me on my investments?

The platform will remain accessible to you. You will continue to be able to Log In to your account and view your investments. CrowdLords will continue to provide updates via the platform, and you’ll receive an email to alert you that an update has been posted. Your investments will continue under the terms set out when you invested.

I’ve got money in my general wallet on the platform, what do I do?

You are able to withdraw all funds from your general CrowdLords e-wallet as and when you wish:

Log in to your account

Visit your portfolio

If you already have a bank account attached to your account, simply withdraw funds

If you do not have a bank account attached, please add this using the link on the left-hand side of your portfolio. Please note the bank account must be in your personal name if you are registered as an individual, or in your business name if you invest as a business. You can then withdraw your funds.

I have money in my IFISA wallet, what do I do?

You have a couple of options available to you if you have funds in your IFISA wallet.

Withdraw the funds to your bank account. If you opened your ISA account this year the cash can be withdrawn and used instead in another ISA wrapper and your allowance is not impacted. If the cash relates to prior year ISA then to maintain the tax wrapper the funds should be transferred to another ISA Manager.

Transfer funds to a new ISA provider.

How to transfer money to a new ISA provider?

You should identify a new ISA provider and make an ISA transfer-in request with them. This can be any sort of ISA, it doesn’t need to be an IFISA.

The new ISA manager will send the required paperwork to isatransfers@sharein.com

Once the paperwork is processed you will receive a message to approve the transfer-out via the platform.

Following your approval ShareIn will process the request and transfer funds to your new ISA Manager.

Is there any change to my ISA investments?

All current investments made within an IFISA will continue under the terms set out when you invested. Your ISA will remain within the tax wrapper unless you choose to withdraw your money directly into your bank account.

I have an ISA transfer in progress, what should I do?

We are not taking any new subscriptions or accepting any new ISA transfers. We would advise you to contact your existing ISA manager to cancel any outstanding ISA transfer request. If the transfer has already been processed by your existing ISA manager, we will not process the payment and on receipt the funds will be returned to sender.

Can I still invest with CrowdLords

CrowdLords will no longer be undertaking any FCA regulated investment activity. We are considering our options and will make an announcement at a later date.

How do I close my account with CrowdLords

We have a regulatory requirement to maintain investor records for 7 years.

If you do not have a live account (ie current investments or money in your wallets) and have not subscribed to receive communication from us, we will not be in touch with you again.

If you would like to update your communication preferences, you can do this via your account area on the platform.

How do I communicate with you?

To discuss anything relating to your account on the CrowdLords platform you can communicate through the messaging service, you’ll find functionality to send us a message via your account area. Alternatively you may email questions to:

Questions about this decision and the implications – support@crowdlords.com

Questions about existing investments – support@crowdlords.com

Questions about your IFISA account or accessing your funds – Support@sharein.com

How do I make a complaint?

We want to ensure you are not negatively impacted by this change but sometimes things go wrong. We would hope to resolve most issues straight away so if you wish to make a compliant please email us and ShareIn on support@crowdlords.com and support@sharein.com to tell us how we can help.

We will need to know:

Your personal details

What's gone wrong and

What you want us to do to put things right

We'll be in touch with you as soon as we can and let you know what will happen next. We'll try to resolve your complaint within 7 working days. For more complex issues it's likely that we will need longer to look into what's happened and we may ask you for further information to help us reach a decision. We'll give you regular updates.

If you're unhappy with the outcome UK Residents can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to carry out an independent review of your complaint. In any event, you have the right to ask the FOS to review your complaint if we've been unable to resolve it within 8 weeks.

The FOS can help UK residents with most complaints if you are:

A consumer

A business employing fewer than 10 persons that has an annual turnover that doesn't exceed €2 million

If you are unsure whether the FOS will consider your complaint, please contact them directly for advice. The service the FOS provides is free and impartial and contacting them at any stage of your complaint will not affect your legal rights. The contact details for the FOS are:

The Financial Ombudsman Service

South Quay Plaza

183 Marsh Wall

London

E14 9SR

Their phone numbers are +44 (0)300 123 9123 or +44 (0)800 023 4567.

You can send an email to: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

What do I do if my personal details change?

You are able to update your personal details (address, password, marketing preferences) via the platform in your account area. You can also add or update your bank account details via your portfolio.

If you require any further information, please contact us via the platform messaging service or email us at support@crowdlords.com.