The Financial Conduct Authority has decided to ban a father and son from UK financial services following a High Court finding that they engaged in fraud and misused client money at an insurance broking firm.
The case traces back to 2017, when Alec Finch and his son Robert Finch sold a 58% stake in AFL Insurance Brokers Limited to Next Generation Holdings Limited, a vehicle controlled by former Cooper Gay chief executive Toby Esser. Esser's company later brought High Court proceedings against the Finches, alleging they had misrepresented AFL's financial position ahead of the sale. In a judgment dated September 27, 2023, the High Court found in the buyer's favour, ordering the Finches to pay £6.1 million in damages and determining that they had failed to act with honesty and integrity in their roles at AFL. The FCA's decision to ban both men follows that judgment, though close to three years passed between the court's findings and the regulator's own action - a gap the FCA has not publicly explained.
The findings against the Finches remain provisional. Both men have referred the FCA's Decision Notices to the Upper Tribunal, where they will present their cases.
The Finches misused client money to fund AFL's operating expenses, and in advance of selling the firm, created false records to mislead the buyer, their accountants and their auditors about its financial position. Those records concealed the client money shortfall and overstated AFL's financial position, leaving the firm carrying a client money deficit.
CASS 5, the FCA's client money rules for insurance distribution, requires brokers to hold premium money separately from the firm's own funds, and that money must be paid to insurers within defined timeframes to protect clients if a firm fails.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said the High Court found that the Finches were the driving force behind every part of the fraud. "They painted a false picture of a successful business and used client money for their own benefit - which they knew was wrong," she said. "We will not tolerate serious misconduct and will take action to remove wrongdoers from the industry," Chambers added.
The Finch case follows earlier FCA action against an insurance broker over client money misuse. In 2024, the regulator banned and penalised Martin Sarl, sole director of Perry Prowse (Insurance Consultants) Ltd, after he used client premium money to pay personal and company debts.
No financial penalty was imposed on either individual. Both provided the FCA with verifiable evidence that any financial penalty would cause them serious financial hardship. Had that not been the case, the FCA said it would have imposed £121,200 on Alec Finch and £169,800 on Robert Finch.
AFL has since changed its name to Ambon Brokers Limited and is no longer authorised by the FCA. The bans remain subject to review by the Upper Tribunal, and the findings against both individuals are provisional pending those proceedings.
