D Mortimer to pursue Lloyds WILTSHIRE'S D Mortimer & Sons
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has appointed lawyers to pursue Lloyds Banking Group for compensation after it was sold a financial product designed to protect it from interest rate rises.
Jonathan Ovens, the director of the company whose assets were purchased by his son Toby in 2011, claimed he was mis-sold the product which then became a significant drag on the firm's finances and played a part in its difficulties and subsequent Partnership Voluntary Arrangement.
The Financial Services Authority announced in January that four banks, including Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays, were conducting reviews of customers entitled to redress, which includes compensation, after being mis-sold interest rate hedging products.
Ovens told CM: "We are quite fortunate; we have a legal expenses insurance policy, so we can pursue Lloyds.
A spokesman for Lloyds Banking Group said it cannot comment on individual customers, and that it was not appropriate to comment on ongoing legal matters.
He added: "We are committed to doing the right thing by our customers, which means [that] following the review we will provide redress as quickly as possible to those small business customers where detriment is identified."
• Turn to page 18 to read CM's investigation into the interest rate mis-selling issue.