Inflation, since 2018

In June & July 2018, Eden Land Planning raised £2,240,000 from 22 investors. A typical individual investment was £100,000. Now, more than five years into the project, Eden is proposing to sell the Redruth site for a sum close to the original investment capital. Eden says this will allow them to return 'most of' the investment capital to the investors.

This is, of course, grossly inadequate. To keep pace with inflation, £100,000 invested in July 2018 should have grown to £134,309 by September 2023, according to data from the Office for National Statistics:

The reason for Eden's dismal failure even to keep pace with inflation is very clear. From the original investment fund of £2,240,000 they invested only £1,475,000 in land at Redruth. About £100,000 was spent on stamp duty and legal costs around acquisition. The remaining £661,750 they quietly retained without the investors' knowledge or permission and have been at pains to keep that fact secret for the last five years.

As per the Shareholders' Agreement, clause 29, the Investors' Presentation is a contractual document and forms part of the Entire Agreement between the Investors and the Directors of Redruth Eden Ltd. 

The Directors were contractually obliged to act in accordance with the Investors' Presentation. By secretly retaining almost 30% of the moneys tendered for investment, they broke the investors' trust and breeched their own contract.