Keydata: PwC says Lifemark payments will resume

PricewaterhouseCoopers said Keydata's traded life settlement vehicle Lifemark will resume income payments despite its short -term liquidity problems.

Around 23,000 investors who put money into Keydata Defined Income Plans, which invested into Lifemark, have faced delays in receiving income payments prompting concerns about the liquidity of the fund. PwC said it had received assurances from Lifemark that the outstanding income payments and £3 million of commission owed to Keydata will be paid by the end of January.  

‘They assure us that the position will be regularised soon and all arrears of income payments and agreed commission will be paid to us by the end of January 2010,’ said PwC in a six month update about the adminstration of Keydata, which tackled the problems with Keydata Secure Income Bonds, Defined Income Plans and Income Property Bonds.

‘The payment of income to investors has been delayed over recent weeks by various issues beyond our control,’ stated PwC. ‘I assure you that we will robustly protect the interest of investors.’ 

The Luxembourg financial regulator appointed KPMG as an administrator to supervise the decisions made by the directors of Lifemark in November. Investors are locked into Lifemark because there is no active market for this investment, according to PwC. Lifemark was established in January 2006 and had Keydata managing director Stewart Ford as one of its directors, according to its annual accounts

Secure Income Bonds  

PwC has been working with City lawyers Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to try and recover cash for Keydata's Secure Income Bond investors. The Keydata customers found out in July 2009 that £103 million invested through Keydata Secure Income Bonds had disappeared. 

PwC said it was conducting formal interviews with Keydata staff and others as part of its investigation. ‘We need to be satisfied that, on a cost-benefit analysis, such litigation is in the best interests of the company’s creditors as a whole,’ stated PwC. 

Hometrak  

PwC warned in September that 240 consumers who invested in Hometrak through Keydata may lose their investment. The US property developer which took the investment said it was highly unlikely that investors would get any money back, according to PwC.