The UK's Financial Conduct Authority is refusing to trifle with three peer-to-peer lending companies that led people to believe, wrongly, that they had a licence to operate and subsequently liquidated themselves, also without the regulator's say-so.

Collateral (UK) Ltd, Collateral Sales Ltd and Collateral Security Trustee Ltd together ran a P2P lending platform at collateraluk.com, with Collateral (UK) Ltd purporting to possess FCA permission to carry out investment business. When challenged by the FCA, the companies agreed to cease their lending activities and, on 26 February, the lending platform became inoperative.

The directors called in the receivers but, once again, failed to obtain the FCA's necessary approval for doing so. Gordon Craig, the administrator they appointed, sent a letter to investors that stated that the company had been operating in the belief that it was authorised and regulated by the FCA but that this was not the case. Since it opened its doors in 2016, Collateral had reportedly lent £16-17 million, most of it backed by property.

On 16 March, the FCA applied to the High Court in Manchester to appoint new administrators. The court adjourned the FCA’s applications to 27 April, until which date, barring incoming payment of loan interest and repayments and certain other administrative steps, the substantive progress of the administration is to be paused.

According to p2p-banking.com, Craig's letter said: "The company was operating in the belief that it was authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under interim permission. It has transpired that this is not the case and consequently the company has ceased lending. Please note that your investment is safe and this is a procedural and compliance issue...

"[If you] have lent money via the collateral platform, do [you] need to do anything? No. Subject to the borrower continuing to make payments of interest and capital those will be returned to you in accordance with the Collateral terms and conditions.

"I can confirm that any monies that are sat on the platform and are not invested are ring fenced in a separate client account and the intention is for these to be returned to all investors after the administrator has obtained control of the bank account and carried out a reconciliation."