Approximately 1,800 investors who invested with the now-collapsed debenture issuer Provident Capital between 2010 and 2014 have agreed to settle their class action.
The class action trial, brought by Slater and Gordon against the trustee of Provident, Australian Executor Trustees, was due to commence in the Supreme Court of NSW yesterday.
Three thousand investors lost money when Provident collapsed, but only around 60 per cent (1,800) are covered by the Slater and Gordon class action.
The settlement amount, which is subject to approval by the court, has not been disclosed.
Slater and Gordon head of class actions Ben Hardwick described the matter as “long-running, complex and difficult” with investigations starting in 2012 and proceedings commencing in the Federal Court in 2014.
The action was then transferred to the Supreme Court of NSW in 2015.
“We began investigating the case in 2012 and after seeking litigation funding support, elected to take it on ‘no win-no fee’ with Slater and Gordon funding the disbursements and indemnifying the lead plaintiff,” Mr Hardwick said.
“The collapse of Provident caused substantial losses to many mum and dad investors who invested in debentures issued by Provident, including the plaintiff and the group members whom he represents,” Mr Hardwick said.
“Our clients alleged that had AET acted earlier, such losses could have been avoided altogether for some investors and minimised for others,” he said.
