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The London office, the empty boxes and the £1bn tax loophole

Exclusive: How a court case over an unoccupied office block could end a widely used tax avoidance scheme

From the outside, the seven-storey building at 2 America Square looks like any other office block in the heart of London’s financial district.

Located about half a mile from Tower Bridge, one might expect it to be a hive of commercial activity, teeming with employees holding important meetings. However, much of the property is home not to staff vying for their next bonus, but to stacks of nondescript black boxes arranged in neat lines.

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© Photograph: Brian Anthony/Alamy

© Photograph: Brian Anthony/Alamy

© Photograph: Brian Anthony/Alamy

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Child trust fund firms face review over efforts to find who owns £1.5bn worth of pots

Exclusive: FCA pressures firms to do more to sort 760,000 accounts as watchdog urges families to use free tracking service

Child trust fund providers are being put under the spotlight to check they are treating savers fairly and doing all they can to reunite young people with lost accounts.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said about 760,000 accounts worth an average of £2,000 were yet to be claimed – more than £1.5bn in total – as it launched a review of the market.

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© Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

© Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

© Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

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