Risk Warning
Key Risks
All persons who register as an ‘investor’ on this website should carefully read the following warnings before making any investment. To invest through MercyCrowd you need to understand the following important risks:
Your Personal Decision to Invest
A decision to invest in a property and unlisted company is a personal investment decision by you and no responsibility for the consequences of that decision is accepted by Elite Capital and Management Services Limited (“MercyCrowd”) or by any of its directors, agents, employees or other members. Most of the investee properties which are listed on MercyCrowd are new entities with limited, if any, track record. While these investments provide information such as the business plan and financial forecasts, please be warned that these documents are not guarantees that the investment can achieve what it is hoping to do. Equally, the information provided may state certain facts and statements, but be warned that MercyCrowd is not responsible for checking the accuracy of these facts and statements (which may not always prove to be true or complete).
Loss of Capital
The value of your investment through the MercyCrowd platform can go up as well as down. This means there is the risk that you may not get back what you put into the investment, so you should carefully consider whether such investments are suitable in light of your own personal circumstances or speak to an independent financial advisor. You should not invest more money than you can afford to lose without altering your standard of living. Elite Capital and Management Services Limited does not guarantee any return on investment nor that the value of any investment will be maintained. Engaging in any investment activity will expose you to a significant risk of losing all or some of your investment. Investment on the MercyCrowd site is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
Lack of Liquidity
Please be aware the shares of your investment are highly illiquid and there is no active secondary market. This means that there could be difficulty in selling your investment at a reasonable price or for any price at all.
The investment property is held in a Special Purpose Vehicle, SPV, with the investors holding comprised of shares in the aforementioned SPV. If an investor wishes to liquidate their holding they may do so by offering their shareholding to the other shareholders. However it should be noted that this form of investment is very illiquid and the other shareholders may not wish to purchase the offered shares.
If this situation were to arise then the shareholder would be left with no option but to hold the shares until the investment is sold and the equity in the SPV is divided up amongst all the shareholders.
All potential shareholders should recognise before investing in such securities that it should be considered as a long term investment that could require the shareholder to hold their position until the disposal of the asset. Even at that point the ability to exit will be dependent upon market conditions for the sale of the underlying property. Timing of the sale is also subject to completion of the transaction which could take several months.
Variable or Lack of Dividends
If property rental income is received, it will be paid to investors as a dividend net of any fees, costs and expenses. However, if a property does not produce rental income or if the rental income is insufficient to cover the costs and expenses of operating the property, then no dividends will be paid.
The Need for Diversification
Diversification helps reduce risk and investing in unlisted property shares should only be done as part of a diversified portfolio. This means you should only invest relatively small amounts in different properties and invest in other asset classes as well. Each investment in property shares should only be a small portion of the money you have available to invest.
Tax Liabilities
You are responsible for the payment of your own taxes from investing via our platform. These may include capital gains and/or income tax. We do not provide tax advice and if you are uncertain how investing will affect your personal tax position, you should seek professional advice before investing. Each company you invest in will be liable to pay corporation tax and any returns you receive will be paid to you net of any corporation tax due.
Past Performance and Forecasts are not Reliable
The value of property and rents may go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Any projections of future performance are based on the internal calculations and opinions of MercyCrowd and are subject to change at any time without notice. Past performance and forecasts are not reliable indicators of future results and should not be relied on.
Currency Risk
Currency risk is the potential risk of loss from fluctuating foreign exchange rates when an investor has exposure to foreign currency or in foreign-currency investments.