Investment business 79th Group collapses as fraud investigation impacts

An investment business in Southport has gone into administration after a major fraud investigation was launched into its activities by the City of London Police.

The City of London Police is investigating a suspected widespread fraud of The 79th Group’s offer of high yield loan notes to investors which promise a high interest return over a fixed period.

The 79th Group operated from Southport Business Park, but no-one was answering the phone today and all emails bounced back. The website is down.

The business also operated in real estate claiming to specialise in the acquisition, management and development of lucrative assets. They offer investment opportunities selling loan notes secured against properties.

Several group companies, including the group at the top of the structure have filed for administration in the court in Manchester, with insolvency practitioner Quantuma handling the administration process.

Investors are contacted by various third-party introducers offering the opportunity to invest with fixed returns between 12% for a minimum £10,000 investment and 15% for a minimum £25,000 investment.

The 79th Group tell investors that funds are used for real estate, wealth and aviation. Another area of business advertised under the 79th Group is mining for natural resources in countries such as Canada and Guinea.

Its directors are listed as David Webster, Curtis Webster and Jake Webster.

In January TheBusinessDesk.com reported that Ribble Valley headquartered First Class Metals had secured a conditional £2.18m investment from The 79th Group, providing financial backing to accelerate its ambitious exploration programme in the mineral-rich Hemlo-Schreiber Greenstone Belt in Ontario, Canada.

One of its employees has placed a desperate plea for work as he told his LinkedIn contacts that the business has gone into administration just before payday. 

The employee said: “It is with a heavy heart and a great deal of panic that I share some tough news. The company I have been working for has gone into administration. I was made redundant one day before payday, and I am now being advised that the company is insolvent and I will not be paid tomorrow. Instead, I will have to apply for reimbursement from the government, which could take weeks.

“This leaves me in an extremely difficult position financially, with no income, no savings, and no immediate prospect of being paid. I now need to secure work quickly to stay afloat over the coming weeks.”

So far, four people have been arrested in connection with 79th Group. A large amount of cash, luxury watches and jewellery were found during searches of properties, all of which were seized. 

All people arrested have been released on bail and enquiries are ongoing.

The City of London Police have asked if anyone who has been contacted by investors from the 79th Group, or working on behalf of the 79th Group, to contact them.

The 79th Group’s statement to clients on 10 April 2025 said: “As a business we have ceased taking any new funds by way of our Loan Note offerings and have asked for a moratorium on payments to clients.

“The aim of this moratorium is to establish an effective plan to develop, with our strategic partners, all of the ongoing and future projects we have in the asset portfolio.

“It is our strong intention to complete these projects, we have instructed leading experts in all jurisdictions, to assist with the restructure plan.

The statement continued: “Despite proactively moving forward, we are extremely sad to say that as part of this plan will involve the rationalisation of our operating expenses. As a result there will be job losses across the Group, primarily focussed around Departments that dealt with the Loan Note products but will inevitably have a wider impact across all colleagues.

“We appreciate that this is a deeply unsettling time for both our colleagues and clients however these steps have been taken to ensure that the business survives and looks to deliver on its obligations.

The statement concluded: “We hope to be able to provide a further update once our external providers have assessed the restructure plan.” 

TheBusinessDesk.com has received a bounce back from the email address which was included in the statement, and from named individuals who had previously been in contact.