The chief City regulator has forced another landbanking company to shut its doors, leaving hundreds of investors with land worth a fraction of the price they paid.

Guildford-based Rubicon Estates, which bought fields at farmland prices and then sold small plots to investors at higher prices in the expectation of valuable planning permission being granted within "five to 20 years", has ceased trading following a Financial Services Authority enquiry. Its office is now empty and its website, which once promised a route to riches, has been taken down. The company is now in discussions with liquidators.

(Via Guardian Unlimited. To read the full story, click here)