Land banking trader ordered to repay £920k to investors

Stephen Watkins, who traded as Consolidated Land UK, sold plots of agricultural land in the UK, much of it subject to planning restrictions, for over £11m and made a "very significant profit". A summary judgment in the High Court yesterday confirmed Watkins sold land illegally and, in addition to ordering him to make the interim payment via the FSA, has banned him for life from selling plots of land. Tracey McDermott, the FSA's acting director of enforcement and financial crime, said: "As this and many other recent and ongoing cases show, the FSA is not afraid to mount complex Court p...