Link Group faces court over WEIF failures

A claim form against a Link Group subsidiary has been lodged on behalf of an initial group of 100 Woodford Equity Income Fund (WEIF) investors to recover losses which followed the fund’s eventual demise in 2019. 

The legal action brought on behalf of investors by Leigh Day is against Link as the fund’s authorised corporate director, which oversaw the WEIF on behalf of those individuals who invested in the fund. 

Link has made clear its intent to defend the claims vigorously, with Leigh Day set to argue the firm was in breach of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) rules regarding the way it managed and monitored the fund, which ultimately led to the fund’s collapse, causing ordinary investors loss and damage.

Leigh Day is currently instructed by over 11,000 claimants.  

“This is a big step forward in the legal action which we hope will allow investors of the Woodford Equity Income Fund to get justice and their hard-earned pensions and savings returned to them,” said Boz Michalowska, partner at law firm Leigh Day.

At its peak, the WEIF — the flagship product of Woodford Investment Management — managed £10.2 billion worth of assets, with local authority pension funds among them.

“This is a huge step forward in getting compensation for the many thousands of unfortunates who lost money in Woodford’s WEIF funds. Leigh Day’s issuing of proceedings is a big milestone,” said Cliff Weight, Woodford campaign director at ShareSoc.