LONDON (Reuters) - A British court has shut down UK Renewable Investments (UKRI) after it failed to pay back millions of pounds of investor funds, the government said on Monday.
The Business and Property Courts in Manchester, northwest England, wound the firm up last week and has appointed a liquidator.
Between July 2015 and September 2016, Darlington, northeast England-based UKRI sold corporate bonds, raising 2.5 million pounds. Investors were told the funds would go to developing plants which generate renewable energy.
Most of the money raised was loaned to a separate company, Bio Green Energy Ltd, for construction of the plants but they were never completed, the government said.
Bio Green went into administration in 2017 and was unable to repay the capital and interest on the loan. Therefore, UKRI was not able to meet payments due to bondholders.
"The court found that UKRI's bond scheme had failed and because the company was insolvent, it was unable to meet its liabilities, including what was owed to investors," the government said in a statement.