The Financial Services Compensation Scheme said today it has made the first pay-outs - totalling just under £2.7m - to 135 victims of the LCF mini-bond firm collapse.

The FCA is to ban the ‘mass marketing’ of speculative mini-bonds following the recent debacle which saw mini-bond provider London Capital & Finance go bust earlier this year owing £236m to 14,000 bondholders.

Further details of the Independent Investigation into London Capital and Finance have been revealed by the FCA.

The government has today officially launched a probe into the circumstances surrounding the collapse of £236m mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance.