Leeds, Nottingham and Newcastle Building Societies have jointly announced they will be providing major voluntary financial support to victims of the Philips Trust scandal – a company which collapsed in 2022 while holding £138m of 2,300 building society customers’ assets including properties in trust and £44m worth of invested savings.

The societies will pay 100 per cent of affected customers savings investments as well as up to £2,400 each towards the costs of getting property titles back. The latter figure is what had been charged by administrator Kroll to make the changes to get properties back.

The decision follows The Yorkshire Post covering the stories of affected victims fighting for compensation over the past year.

Richard Fearon, chief executive of the Leeds Building Society, said he hopes the announcement will restore trust in mutuals.

Andrea Hindley, from the Philips Trust Action group of affected victims and family members, today welcomed the announcement and said of the building societies: “They have done the right thing.”

Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham and seven other smaller societies had introduced hundreds of customers to unregulated advisers who sold them family trusts linked to properties and investment schemes for their savings which have since become mired in financial complications.

The assets ultimately ended up in the hands of a firm called Philips Trust Corporation. After entering administration, a PTC director called Kay Collins admitted there had been “co-mingling, pooling and mistreatment of client monies” by the firm.

Leeds, Newcastle and Nottingham Building Societies to pay tens of millions to Philips Trust victims