-
Guy Conroy was a director of Green IS Group Limited and GIS Forestry Limited, which offered customers the opportunity to invest in teak trees on plantations in Brazil
-
Conroy allowed Green IS Group and GIS Forestry to mislead their customers, breaching contractual obligations in the process
-
At least £8.525 million was owed to investors when the companies went into liquidation in March 2022
The director of two companies which claimed to run teak plantations in Brazil has been banned after investors lost more than £8.5 million.
Guy Conroy, 57, was the director of Green IS Group Limited and GIS Forestry Limited which offered customers the opportunity to invest in teak trees on its plantations.
Conroy allowed the companies to provide misleading information to customers telling them their investments were secured and there were safeguards to protect their money.
However, at least 250 investors were owed millions of pounds when the companies went into liquidation in 2022.
Conroy, of Upper Richmond Road, London, has been disqualified as a company director for 11 years.
Ann Oliver, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said
Green IS Group and GIS Forestry traded in a manner which was completely unacceptable and not in the public interest.
Guy Conroy was a director of both these companies. He allowed them to mislead investors who lost out on millions of pounds as a result of his actions.
Conroy’s conduct is not what we would expect of company directors which is why we have taken steps to remove him from the corporate arena until March 2036.
Both Green IS Group and GIS Forestry generally sold bonds for £5,000 each with a fixed term between two and 10 years and interest rates of between 8% and 11%.
At the end of each bond’s term, they were to be redeemed by the companies, repaying the initial investment amount to the customer.
Customers thought they were buying rights to teak trees or saplings on plantations in Brazil, but the companies selling the bonds did not have the correct ownership rights.
No debenture over Green IS Group’s assets was ever registered at Companies House and security over GIS Forestry’s assets was only registered in October 2020 despite the company issuing bonds from December 2014.
Investors lost out on at least £8.525 million as a result of these investments.
The majority of investors were based in the UK and the largest claim from a creditor in the liquidation process was £636,000.
Both Green IS Group and GIS Forestry were placed into compulsory liquidation on the same day in March 2022 following winding-up petitions from creditors.
The Secretary of State for Business and Trade accepted a disqualification undertaking from Conroy, and his ban started on Thursday 27 March 2025.
It prevents him from being involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.
The liquidator has also obtained records and met with Conroy and the other directors in an attempt to identify and recover company assets.
