Philip James Hopkinson was the director of Target Source Media Limited when he established the Target Source Media Pension Scheme in June 2016.

Less than a year later, he transferred the administration of the occupational pension scheme to a third party and over the next five months, members of the public transferred over £200,000 into the pension scheme, which remained unregistered in breach of the Pensions Act 2004.

Mr Hopkinson never met or spoke with those he appointed and did not verify their ability or experience to administer a pension scheme to ensure potential members’ funds were invested correctly and that the risk to members would be minimised.

The company initially operated as a call centre from November 2011 and focused on buying and selling data. At the time of the winding-up of Target Source Media Limited in 2018, the company had separate debts of over £65,000.

Mr Hopkinson resigned as a director in June 2017 but remained as an employee for a further two to three months and helped authorise the transfer of members’ funds out of the pension scheme bank account.

Following an Insolvency Service investigation, Mr Hopkinson signed an 8-year disqualification undertaking which began on 25 June 2021.

Neil North, chief investigator of the Insolvency Service, said: “Mr Hopkinson breached the duties placed on him as a director of a limited company and as a result, members of the public have been unnecessarily put at risk and have potentially lost funds from their occupational pensions.

“In such cases, the Insolvency Service will not hesitate to take action to remove the privilege of limited liability status from such individuals.”

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings. Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of restrictions including not acting as a director or getting other people to manage a company under their instructions.