ASIC has cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of Perth-based Quattro Capital Group Pty Ltd (Quattro) and banned its director, Grant Stewart Gibson, from controlling a financial services entity for eight years.

Quattro was the AFS licensee of a number of authorised representatives, including representatives who were part of the Mayfair 101 Group and issued debentures promoted by Mayfair 101. Mr Gibson is the sole director of Quattro and its responsible manager.

ASIC found Quattro failed to:

• maintain the competence to provide financial services;
• properly supervise its representatives and ensure they were adequately trained or competent to provide the financial services covered by Quattro’s licence;
• have adequate human and financial resources and risk management systems;
• comply with financial services laws by not lodging its annual financial statements with ASIC for the 2016-2020 financial years in the required timeframe; and
• ensure that the financial services covered by its licence were provided efficiently, honestly and fairly.

ASIC also found that Mr Gibson was involved in Quattro’s contraventions of financial services laws and is not competent to control an entity that carries on a financial services business.

The cancellation of Quattro’s AFS licence and the banning of Mr Gibson is part of ASIC’s work to ensure that licensees adequately supervise their representatives and comply with their obligations.

Mr Gibson’s banning is recorded on ASIC’s banned and disqualified register.

Quattro and Mr Gibson have the right to seek a review of ASIC’s decision in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Background

Quattro has held AFS licence number 334653 since 17 July 2009.

On 23 March 2021, the Federal Court found that four Mayfair 101 Group entities (that were corporate authorised representatives of Quattro) had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and made false or misleading representations when promoting Mayfair’s debenture products (21-055MR). On 22 December 2021, the Federal Court ordered the four Mayfair 101 Group entities to pay penalties of $30 million for misleading advertising (21-364MR). The Mayfair 101 Group entities have appealed the orders.

On 19 April 2021, the Federal Court restrained Mr James Mawhinney, an individual representative of Quattro, from advertising and soliciting funds in relation to financial products for 20 years (21-076MR). Mr Mawhinney has appealed those orders.

ASIC has a dedicated webpage for Mayfair 101 Group investors.