Recover Your Losses from Whisky & Co

Whisky & Co Ltd (Company number 14592302) was incorporated on 14 January 2023 and operated from various addresses, most recently Barnet, Greater London. The company, run by Ashley James Wilkinson, marketed itself as a leading distributor and wholesaler of whisky casks, promising high returns on investment. However, investigations by financial journalists, including Tony Hetherington of This is Money, revealed significant discrepancies and misleading claims regarding the investments offered.

Investors were typically approached by salesmen, often associated with Nicholas James Finance (also owned by Ashley Wilkinson), and encouraged to invest in whisky casks. Promises of 10-12% annual returns were made, with claims that casks would be stored in HMRC bonded warehouses in Scotland. However, it was discovered that the investments were in Irish whiskey casks, stored in the Republic of Ireland, outside HMRC jurisdiction. Furthermore, the company’s financial statements showed a negative net worth of minus £312,948 by January 2024, raising serious concerns about its solvency and ability to repay investors.

Neither Whisky & Co nor Nicholas James Finance were authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to sell investments to the public, meaning they were legally restricted to offering investments only to experienced or wealthy individuals who could bear the risks. Evidence suggests these investments were unlawfully sold to ordinary investors who were neither experienced nor wealthy, leading to an FCA investigation.