The case traces back to 2017, when Alec Finch and his son Robert Finch sold a 58% stake in AFL Insurance Brokers Limited to Next Generation Holdings Limited, a vehicle controlled by former Cooper Gay chief executive Toby Esser. Esser’s company later brought High Court proceedings against the Finches, alleging they had misrepresented AFL’s financial position ahead of the sale. In a judgment dated September 27, 2023, the High Court found in the buyer’s favour, ordering the Finches to pay £6.1 million in damages and determining that they had failed to act with honesty and integrity in their roles at AFL. The FCA’s decision to ban both men follows that judgment, though close to three years passed between the court’s findings and the regulator’s own action – a gap the FCA has not publicly explained.
