A strong aroma surrounding this ‘award winning’ whiskey house: explores TONY HETHERINGTON
Tony Hetherington is the Financial Mail on Sunday’s top researcher, taking on readers’ corners, uncovering the truth that lies behind closed doors and delivering victories for those left out of their own pockets. Below you can read how you can contact him.
SM writes: The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) set enforcement rules for whiskey investment companies a few months ago.
However, Riverside Whiskey Partners Limited continues to blatantly violate these rules. Why won’t anyone hold them accountable?
Dram Riverside Whiskey Partners Limited has been accused of breaching new rules for whiskey investment companies
Tony Hetherington replies: Selling barrels of whiskey as an investment requires no investigation, authorization or regulation and has no compensation scheme if something goes wrong.
A growing number of companies have entered the sector, and the City of London Police have urged investors to be cautious, citing Trading Standards advice: ‘Casks are sold as a long-term investment because whiskey takes time to to mature in the barrel. .
‘This means that it may take several years before investors realize that their investments are not paying off.’
They did not specifically reference Riverside Whiskey Partners (RWP). However, RWP clashed with the ASA over claims that investors could expect ‘annual returns of 13 to 20 percent tax-free’.
The ASA’s enforcement notice, issued to all whiskey investment firms, made it clear that written evidence was required for such claims.
When the ASA intervened, RWP withdrew its prediction. But other claims persisted.
When I looked at the RWP website it showed the names and logos of the Forces charity SSAFA, Dementia UK and the King’s College Hospital Charity, with the claim that RWP sponsored them.
Dementia UK told me: ‘Riverside Whiskey Partners has never been a sponsor of Dementia UK. We have contacted the company to request that our logo be removed.”
A manager at the hospital charity said: ‘I can confirm that Riverside Whiskey Partners is not a sponsor of King’s College Hospital Charity.’
And a spokesperson for SSAFA told me, “There is no record that SSAFA has ever had a relationship with Riverside Whiskey Partners.”
RWP’s website also had a section entitled ‘Awards’, which featured the names and logos of three whiskey industry bodies.
The organizers of the World Whiskies Awards told me that RWP had not won such an honour, adding: ‘We have written to RWP asking them to remove the logo and have been ignored on several occasions.’
Roy Duff, co-founder of the Online Scotch Whiskey Awards, told me that RWP had not won an award and did not have permission to use its logo. He described RWP’s promotion as “misleading and an abuse of our brand.”
And the Scottish Whiskey Awards told me they have not awarded any prizes to RWP, saying: ‘We first requested our logo be removed from this website in November 2022.’
The ASA has also warned whiskey investment firms not to claim press coverage unless these articles are genuine, saying: ‘If you have paid to be featured it is likely to be considered misleading.’
Under the heading ‘Recently in the press’, RWP provides links to three publications. Two are dead, while the third leads to an article written by RWP, described as ‘sponsored’, meaning it’s simply an advertisement.
I put all this to RWP boss Neil Cahillane, who insisted that donations had been made to the charities, but that these may have come from himself or an associated company.
He said the logos would be removed, adding: “As a director, I must personally apologize for this mistake.”
He accepted that the press coverage was ‘advertorials’, but told me this had been approved by a marketing company.
He made no mention of the ASA warning on the subject and made no comment on the misuse of the whiskey industry’s logos.
None of this has anything to do with the price at which Cahillane’s company sells its barrels. And it’s certainly not about whether the value of that whiskey will rise or fall in the many years before it’s bottled and sold.
But it does raise the question of whether I would trust RWP’s sales pitch. The answer is no.
Account’s wake-up call
DA writes: I’m reaching out on behalf of a local transport history association, which allowed its Santander account to become inactive after I was told it would be easy to revive it. Now that the association wants to use its funds again, this appears not to be the case. I wonder if you can help?
Tony Hetherington replies: The association had three trustees, but one died and the other two are elderly. No one was replaced and society became dormant. Some supporters, including yourself, want to revive it and merge it with a similar local history organization. I asked Santander for help and was told that proof of identity was required from the remaining administrators.
This was not a problem with one curator, but the other is 87 and has no passport or driver’s license. His travel pass was accepted when he voted in the recent elections, but was not acceptable to Santander.
I suggested he apply for a driver’s license – even though he didn’t want to use it – as this would be acceptable.
However, I am pleased to say that Santander has accepted a letter from HMRC as proof of identity. The account has now been unblocked and the two trustees can use it and approve the merger.
- If you believe you have been a victim of financial misconduct, please write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Due to the large number of questions, personal answers cannot be given. Please only send copies of original documents, which unfortunately cannot be returned.
DIY INVESTMENT PLATFORMS
A. J. Bell
A. J. Bell
Easy investing and ready-made portfolios
Hargreaves Lansdown
Hargreaves Lansdown
Free fund trading and investment ideas
interactive investor
interactive investor
Invest for a fixed amount from € 4.99 per month
Sax
Sax
Get £200 back in trading fees
Trade 212
Trade 212
Free trading and no account fees
Affiliate links: If you purchase a product, This is Money may earn a commission. These deals have been chosen by our editors because we believe they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.
Some links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on it, we may earn a small commission. That helps us fund This Is Money and keep it free to use. We do not write articles to promote products. We do not allow a commercial relationship to compromise our editorial independence.