Updates on Dolfin Financial's administration

Please find updated contact information below.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 10 FEBRUARY 2026

The Joint Special Administrators (JSAs) of Dolfin have today written to all eligible clients to notify them of a distribution of their Client Money claim and / or their claim for Corporate Action Income (“CAI”).  Client money claims relate to cash balances held by Dolfin on 30 June 2021, which have been pooled in accordance with Client Money Rules.  CAI relates to monies received after 30 June 2021 which are usually derived from Custody Assets held for clients, such as dividends.

Clients who have a claim for Client Money or CAI should note the contents of the letter carefully and provide the documents and information requested in order to ensure a prompt return of the Client Money and / or CAI.  Should you believe you have a claim for Client Money and / or CAI and have not received a letter please contact the JSAs by email to Dolfin.transfers@evelyn.com or telephone +44 20 4617 5877.

Please note that this distribution only relates to Client Money and CAI at present. A return of Clients’ Custody Assets must be dealt with by way of a Distribution Plan approved by Court. The JSAs are in the process of finalising a Distribution Plan and further details will be circulated to Clients in due course in relation to the return of their Custody Assets.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 28 JANUARY 2026

On 7 November 2025, we announced that Deputy Judge Christopher Pymont KC (the “Judge”) had reserved his Judgment, meaning that it would be issued at a later date. On 13 January 2026, the Judge issued his Judgment, and an Order has now been agreed between the parties and approved by the Judge. The sealed Order can be found here. Further details are set out below.
 
The Order is legally binding and requires the Joint Special Administrators (the “JSAs”) to take certain actions. These actions have important implications for Dolfin Financial (UK) Limited (“Dolfin”) and its clients and we would encourage all clients to read this notice carefully. If you have any questions about this notice you should contact dolfin@swgroup.com. 
 
Background

The Judgment deals with the following applications: 

1. The JSAs’ application for directions (the “JSAs’ Application”) 
   The JSAs sought various directions from the Court intended to help them move forward with returning Client Assets to clients; and
2. Firestone Financial Assets Ltd’s application for directions ( the “Firestone Application”) Firestone Financial Assets Ltd (“Firestone”), a client of Dolin, issued an application seeking the following: 

1. An order for the JSAs to make an interim payment of 90% of Client Money, and
2. A declaration that the JSAs had not carried out their duties as quickly or efficiently as they reasonably should have, under paragraph 74(2) of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986.
    
   

Judgment 

The Judge ordered the JSAs to pay an interim distribution of 90% of Client Money. The Judge did not make any declaration that the JSAs had failed to carry out their duties quickly or efficiently, nor did he did grant the directions sought by the JSAs. A copy of the Judgment is available upon request. 
 
Pursuant to the Order, a copy of which can be found here, the JSAs must by 31 January 2026:

1. Declare an interim distribution of 90% of the Client Money held by Dolfin (the “Interim Distribution”); and 
2. Pay the Interim Distribution to Firestone and Investors Europe (Malta) Ltd (formerly Dolfin Asset Services Limited).

Some clients may want to use part of their Client Money to meet costs relating to their Client Custody Assets. In such cases, the following process will apply:

1. The JSAs will write to such clients to determine whether they wish to use their Client Money to pay their share of Client Custody Asset costs. 
2. The JSAs may delay paying the 90% Interim Distribution to those clients until they confirm they do not wish to use their Client Money for those costs. 
3. Once confirmation is received, the JSAs will pay that client their Interim Distribution as soon as reasonably practicable, subject to compliance with UK Anti Money Laundering and Sanctions legislation.

Next Steps 

The JSAs are preparing to send letters to all clients who are eligible to receive an Interim Distribution. These letters will ask for any information needed to enable payment and will include the notifications required under the Court Order. 
 
As set out above, in order to make these payments the JSAs must comply with UK legislation on Anti-Money Laundering and Sanctions. This means certain information must be collected from clients before funds can be released. If you receive a letter from the JSAs it is very important you respond with the information requested. Without this information, the JSAs will not be able to pay your Interim Distribution. 
 
The JSAs are satisfied that the Judgment provides enough clarity for them to move forward with preparing a Distribution Plan for the return of Client Custody Assets. They now intend to finalise this plan as soon as possible, with the aim of submitting it to the Court for approval in late Q1 or early Q2 2026. The JSAs cannot yet confirm the exact date for the Court application. Before filing, they will present the draft Distribution Plan to the Committee for its review. Any feedback received will need to be considered and, where appropriate, incorporated into the final version.
 
A hearing to deal with consequential matters arising from the JSAs’ Application and the Firestone Application has been listed for 20 March 2026, with a time estimate of one day (the “Consequentials Hearing”). Clients and creditors of Dolfin who wish to obtain copies of the skeleton arguments filed by the parties for the Consequentials Hearing should email dolfin@swgroup.com. 

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 7 NOVEMBER 2025

The Directions Hearing took place between 28 – 30 October 2025 and judgement has been reserved.  

Judgement will be issued at the discretion of Deputy Judge Christopher Pymont KC.

An update will be provided to all stakeholders at the earliest opportunity, via this webpage. 

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 27 OCTOBER 2025

We can confirm that the hearing date has now been set for the JSAs’ application dated 28 April 2025, as well as Firestone Financial Assets Limited’s applications dated 17 January, 26 March, and 23 September 2025. The hearing will take place over three days, commencing at 10:30am on Tuesday 28 October 2025 at the Rolls Building, Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL.
 
The JSAs have asked the Court whether the hearing may be attended remotely and are currently awaiting confirmation from the Judge. If remote attendance is permitted, the JSAs will confirm in due course. In the meantime, any parties interested in attending remotely are asked to email dolfin@swgroup.com so that their details can be added to the attendance list.
 
Clients and creditors of Dolfin who wish to access the hearing bundle and the skeleton arguments filed by the parties should also email dolfin@swgroup.com. Access will then be provided to a password-protected SharePoint folder.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 21 OCTOBER 2025

Further to the order of Nicola Rushton KC dated 10 June 2025, Firestone Financial Assets Ltd (“Firestone”) has served its reply evidence consisting of:

1. Fourth Witness Statement of Henry Farris dated 17 October 2025 and Exhibit HWF3; and
2. First Witness Statement of Leon Chua dated 17 October 2025 and Exhibit LC1.

(Together, the "Further Firestone Evidence").

On 23 September 2025, Firestone issued a further application, pursuant to Rule 202 of the Investment Bank Special Administration (England and Wales) Rules 2011 (the "Further Rule 202 Application"). The Further Rule 202 Application challenges the expenses in the JSAs’ 8th Progress Report dated 28 July 2025. The Further Rule 202 Application has also been listed for the hearing due to take place in the week commencing 27 October 2025.

Clients and Creditors of Dolfin wishing to obtain copies of the Further Firestone Evidence and/or the Further Rule 202 Application should write to dolfin@swgroup.com, following which they will be provided with access to a password-protected SharePoint folder.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 9 OCTOBER 2025

By way of further update we can confirm that a client of the company, Investors Europe (Malta) Limited (formerly Dolfin Asset Services Limited (“DASL”)) has filed two witness statements (the “DASL Statements”) further to the order of Nicola Rushton KC dated 10 June 2025 (the “Order”). The JSAs have also filed further evidence namely, the eighth witness statement of Adam Stephens (the “JSAs’ 8th Statement”), pursuant to the Order. 

Clients and Creditors of Dolfin wishing to obtain copies of the DASL Statements and the JSAs’ 8th Statement should write to dolfin@swgroup.com, following which they will be provided with access to a password-protected SharePoint folder.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 8 SEPTEMBER 2025 

Please note that, by way of approved consent order found here, the deadlines for serving Witness evidence have now been revised to 11th September 2025 for clients & creditors, and 2nd October 2025 for the Joint Special Administrators.

Clients and Creditors of Dolfin wishing to obtain copies of the Firestone Evidence are reminded to write to dolfin@swgroup.com, following which they will be provided with access to a password-protected SharePoint folder.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 29 AUGUST 2025

By way of update and further to paragraph 8 of the order of Nicola Rushton KC dated 10 June 2025 (the "Order"), a copy of which can be found here, we can confirm that Firestone Financial Assets Ltd have served their evidence. This includes the Third Witness Statement of Henry Farris dated 21 August 2025 and Exhibit HWF2 (together, the "Firestone Evidence"). 
 
Please note that, by consent, the deadlines set out at paragraphs 8 and 10 of the Order have been extended to 21 August 2025 and 2 October 2025 respectively.  
 
Clients and Creditors of Dolfin wishing to obtain copies of the Firestone Evidence should write to dolfin@swgroup.com, following which they will be provided with access to a password-protected SharePoint folder.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 26 JUNE 2025

Please find notice of a hearing scheduled for the week commencing 27 October 2025 located here. 

Further information will be made available in due course.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – PROCEDURAL HEARING 

We write to provide an update on the procedural hearing of the JSAs' Directions Application and the Firestone Application (the "Procedural Hearing"). The Procedural Hearing has been listed for 10 June 2025 at 10:30am. 

IMPORTANT UPDATE – PROCEDURAL HEARING – 06/06/2025

We write to provide an update on the procedural hearing of the JSAs' Directions Application and the Firestone Application (the "Procedural Hearing"). The Procedural Hearing has been listed for 10 June 2025.

A further update will be provided once the time of the Procedural Hearing has been confirmed by the Court.

On 27 May 2025 the JSAs received a further application from Firestone dated 26 March 2025 which was issued pursuant to Rule 202 of the Investment Bank Special Administration (England and Wales) Rules 2011 (the "Rule 202 Application"). The Rule 202 Application challenges the fixed cost basis of the JSAs' remuneration, which has previously been unanimously approved by the Committee. Firestone have written to the Court to request that the Rule 202 Application be listed for directions at the Procedural Hearing, which the JSAs consent to. 

The JSAs intend to seek directions at the Procedural Hearing that no further steps be taken on the Directions Application until the Rule 202 Application has been determined. Firestone consider that all three applications should be case managed together and seek alternative directions to the JSAs. 

Clients and Creditors of Dolfin wishing to: (a) attend the Procedural Hearing remotely; and/or (b) obtain copies of the Hearing Bundle for the Procedural Hearing should write to dolfin@swgroup.com, following which they will be provided with access to a password-protected SharePoint folder.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 09/05/2025

By way of further update on the JSAs' Directions Application, the Application Notice can be found here.

The Court has confirmed that the Procedural Hearing will be listed in a 3-day window, from 10 June 2025, with a time estimate of 2.5 hours. The Procedural Hearing will therefore take place on a date between 10 – 12 June 2025. A copy of the Hearing Notice can be found here. 
 
The JSAs will provide a further update once the date for the Procedural Hearing has been confirmed by the Court

中文翻译请点击以下链结

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 02/05/2025

On 28 April 2025 the JSAs lodged an application with the High Court of Justice seeking directions in the special administration of Dolfin Financial (UK) Ltd (the "Directions Application"). The Directions Application was issued so that the JSAs can obtain directions from the Court on a number of key matters that impact upon the finalisation of a Distribution Plan.

On 17 January 2025, one of Dolfin's Clients, Firestone Financial Assets Limited, issued an application against the JSAs seeking their own directions from the Court (the "Firestone Application"), a preliminary hearing of which took place on 30 April 2025. Pursuant to the order of ICC Judge Prentis dated 2 May 2025 (the "Order"), the Court has ordered that the Directions Application and the Firestone Application be listed for directions at a hearing on the first available date after 19 May 2025 (the "Procedural Hearing"). The JSAs will provide a further update once the date for the Procedural Hearing has been fixed. In the meantime, a copy of the Order can be found here.

Clients and Creditors of Dolfin wishing to obtain copies of the evidence filed in support of the Directions Application should write to dolfin@swgroup.com, following which they will be provided with access to a password-protected SharePoint folder.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 15/07/2022

In accordance with the JSAs June 2022 global update, the formal Bar Date notice has now been issued to all known clients. A copy of the Bar Date Notice is also available for download via this webpage.

The Bar Date is set for 5pm on 29th July and we ask that, where Clients are yet to respond, they verify their claim by way of a response to the encrypted email issued to them on 6th July 2022.

If you have submitted your claim as part of the earlier release, you need take no further action at this stage however, if you are yet to respond, please do so by way of dolfin.transfers@evelyn.com. Alternatively, please call 020 7131 4452.

IMPORTANT UPDATE – 11/03/2022

The JSAs have been notified of the FSCS decision not to fund the Special Administration. This is because FSCS does not consider that the requirements for paying compensation under its rules are met. This affects:

• clients who participated in the Tier 1 Visa Scheme (the Scheme) and who held a mix
  of conflicted bonds and non-conflicted ‘vanilla’ assets;
• clients who did not participate in the Scheme, but who nevertheless held a mix of conflicted bonds and non-conflicted ‘vanilla’ assets; and
• clients connected to Dolfin.

Broadly, this means that clients will be required to fund the costs of transferring their own assets, before consideration is given to any form of compensation.

The JSAs will provide further details on the impact of the FSCS decision in due course. In the meantime, the FSCS statement and contact details can be found here: https://www.fscs.org.uk/making-a-claim/failed-firms/dolfin/

JSAs 已被告知 FSCS 决定不为特别行政部门提供资金。这是因为 FSCS 认为不符合其规则下的赔偿要求。 这会影响：

• 参与Tier 1签证计划（"计划"）并持有混合冲突债券和非冲突的 "vanilla "资产的客户;
• 未参加该计划, 但仍持有混合有冲突的债券和非冲突的“vanilla”资产的客户； 和
• 客户 和其他连接到 Dolfin 的实体。

从广义上讲，这意味着在考虑任何形式的补偿之前，客户将需要为转移自己资产的成本提供资金。

JSAs 将在适当时候提供有关 FSCS 决定的影响的更多详细信息。同时，FSCS声明和联系方式可以在这里找到：https://www.fscs.org.uk/making-a-claim/failed-firms/dolfin/.

UPDATE – 28/02/2022

The Joint Special Administrators are pleased to confirm that Client Statements, detailing Client Custody Assets & Client Money holdings as at 30th June 2021, have now been issued to all known clients by way of a secure email from dolfin.transfers@smithandwilliamson.com. Please therefore ensure that you review your junk mailbox to ensure that the secure email has not been incorrectly captured under any spam filters.

联合特别管理人很高兴地确认，截至 2021 年 6 月 30 日的客户托管资产和客户资金持有情况的客户声明现已通过来自 dolfin.transfers@smithandwilliamson.com 的安全电子邮件发给您。因此，请确保您检查您的垃圾邮箱，以确保安全电子邮件没有被任何垃圾邮件过滤器错误地捕获。

联合特别行政客户声明信的翻译版本可在此处下载。 如上所述，您的独特声明将通过电子邮件发送给您。

UPDATE 28/01/2022

The JSAs are pleased to confirm that their first six-month progress report (“the Report”) for the period ending 29th December 2021, is now available for viewing here.

The JSAs expect to issue a further update shortly with regards to the release of client statements, so please do continue to monitor the webpage for the latest information.

JSAs 很高兴地确认，截至2021年12月29日的第一份六个月进度报告（"报告"）现已可在此处查看。

JSAs 预计将很快会发布有关客户声明的进一步更新，因此请继续关注网页以获取最新信息。

UPDATE 09/09/2021

Following the clients’ and creditors’ meeting on 2 September 2021, clients and creditors approved the JSAs’ proposals and voted to form a clients’ and creditors’ committee.  It was not possible to agree the committee members at the meeting and this will be dealt with separately by way of a formal vote.  The minutes of the meeting can be found here and a report on the outcome can be found here.

在 2021 年 9 月 2 日的客户和债权人会议之后，客户和债权人批准了 JSA 的提议，并投票组建了客户和债权人委员会。会议上不可能就委员会成员达成一致意见，这将通过正式投票的方式单独处理。 会议纪要可在此处找到 链接到缩写的会议记录，关于结果的报告，可在此处找到 链接到表格 2.23B 。

UPDATE 17/08/2021 – JOINT SPECIAL ADMINISTRATORS’ (“JSAs”) PROPOSALS / MEETING OF CLIENTS & CREDITORS

The JSAs are pleased to confirm that their statement of proposals (“the Proposals”), setting out the way in which it is proposed that the statutory objectives of the special administration will be achieved, are now available for download. For the avoidance of doubt, details of how the Proposals can be accessed have also been circulated by way of post, to all known creditors and clients of the Company.

Full details surrounding the immediate next steps, including but not limited to the upcoming meeting of creditors and clients (“the Meeting”), scheduled for 2nd September 2021, can be found within the relevant documents located under the Proposals tab (right).

Should you have any queries in relation to the Proposals or indeed the Meeting, please contact us at dolfin@smithandwilliamson.com with Subject: Proposals/Meeting Query.

UPDATE 10/08/2021 – CLIENT TRANSFERS TO BRITANNIA

With reference to the recent communications sent to eligible clients, unless you have previously agreed otherwise with the Joint Special Administrators in writing, the window to submit forms to instruct either an early transfer or opt out of the proposed transfer to Britannia has now expired (being 9 August 2021).

The Joint Special Administrators are now in the process of facilitating the transfers of client custody assets and client money to Britannia for clients who did not opt out of the transfer. There is a large quantity of client custody assets to transfer, and some of these are more difficult to transfer than others. The Joint Special Administrators can assure all clients who are transferring to Britannia that we are continuing to work closely with them, and the relevant custodians, to ensure that all transfers are effected as quickly as possible.

You will in due course receive confirmation from Britannia that your account has been opened and you will be able to access your client custody assets and client money at Britannia. We thank you for your patience whilst these transactions are being processed.

Clients not transferring

For clients who have opted out of the transfer or who were not eligible to transfer to Britannia, further details will be provided in due course. In the meantime, your assets remain under the control of the Joint Special Administrators.

UPDATE 12/07/2021

We are pleased to confirm that the JSAs and Britannia Global Markets Limited (“Britannia”) have agreed terms for the transfer of certain client agreements to Britannia.

All clients affected by this transfer have been written to by email and a copy of the letter can be found here. Should any clients have questions concerning the transfer, please refer to the contact details below:

Clients not included in the transfer have also been written to by email and a copy of their letter can be found here. 

UPDATE 05/07/2021

We are pleased to confirm that, following our appointment on 30 June 2021, the Joint Special Administrators (“JSAs”) and Britannia Global Markets Limited (“Britannia”) have today signed an agreement for the sale of certain assets of Dolfin. The agreement will include the transfer of certain Dolfin client agreements to Britannia.

Further details (albeit limited at this stage) can be found in the attached announcement which has been sent to all clients.

Background

Dolfin is an independent wealth management firm providing investment management, investment advisory, execution-only and custody services to a broad range of clients. As at the date of Special Administration, the Company employed circa 30 staff and had circa 500 clients with underlying client monies of c£120m and custody assets of c£1.28bn. Please note that the Company did not provide advice in relation to ISA and pension products.

You may be aware that, on 12 March 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) imposed restrictions on Dolfin’s ability to conduct regulated activities.  Since this date, the Dolfin Board have been exploring all available options to fulfil their legal and regulatory obligations to establish an orderly wind down of Dolfin’s business and, subject to consent from the FCA, and to seek to undertake a transfer of client’s monies and assets to a new provider, if appropriate.

In early June 2021, due to a reassessment of the Company’s financial position in the light of progress with its wind down plan, the Dolfin Board concluded that the wind down could not be undertaken outside of a formal insolvency process.  Accordingly, and following professional advice, the Dolfin Board resolved to place Dolfin into Special Administration. 

Application was made to the Court for a special administration order on 22 June 2021. The order was granted by the Court on 30^th June 2021 and we, being Adam Henry Stephens and Kevin Ley, were appointed JSAs.

Possible transfer to a new provider

Concurrent with the above work the Company has been to seeking to find a suitable successor service provider, and much work has been undertaken in the prior weeks in that regard. The JSAs are continuing to hold detailed discussions with the intended acquirer with a view to finalising the terms of any transfer. 

Further updates will be provided as soon as reasonably practicable, and this website will be updated accordingly.

The special administration regime

A key priority for the JSAs is now to identify, protect and in due course return client money and custody assets to clients in accordance with their interests to the fullest extent possible.  Please see the separate frequently asked questions document for further information on the special administration process.

Contact details

The Special Administrators have a dedicated telephone, website and email address for affected parties. Please note that telephone lines may be busy and you may not be able to speak to anyone.  These are:

• Telephone: 020 3763 8597
  The phone lines may be busy, so we suggest visiting this website for updates
• Email: Dolfin@smithandwilliamson.com
• Website: Please continue to visit this website and look for updates including a Frequently Asked Questions document.

Uncertainty

We recognize that the present circumstances can understandably cause uncertainty.  We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding.  Thank you.

For all press related queries please contact Mark Gee on 0207 131 4597.

Smith & Williamson LLP

The affairs, business and property of Dolfin Financial (UK) Limited  (‘the Company’) are being managed by the joint special administrators Adam Henry Stephens and Kevin Ley of Smith & Williamson LLP.  They act as agents of the Company and without personal liability. Adam Henry Stephens and Kevin Ley are licensed as insolvency practitioners in the UK by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. 

Dolfin Financial (UK) Limited is incorporated in England and Wales under the Companies Act 2006 with registered number 07431519. The Company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with FRN 552894. Registered office: 25 Moorgate, London, EC2R 6AY.  The Fair Processing Notice in relation to the General Data Protection Regulation can be accessed at www.smithandwilliamson.com/rrsgdpr Should you wish to be supplied with a hard copy, free of charge, please contact Smith & Williamson’s offices.

The word partner is used to refer to a member of Smith & Williamson LLP.  A list of members is available at the registered office
Registered in England at 25 Moorgate, London EC2R 6AY No OC369631
Regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales for a range of investment business activities
A member of Nexia International, a worldwide network of independent accounting firms