Help For Halcyon Retreat UK Ltd Investors

The main complaints at the moment revolve around delayed payments. Many investors are keen to get their money back.

Halcyon Retreat UK Ltd had promised investors the chance to invest in a 220-acre luxury golf and spa resort in France. Part of the offering included the chance to buy holiday homes on the resort.

Investors were told that they would get guaranteed rental returns for ten years, fully managed properties, freehold ownership and no maintenance fees. They were offered investments through 'loan notes' which have come under scrutiny in recent years following a number of failed investment schemes.

The developer for the resort was Barrasford and Bird Worldwide, founded by Robin Barrasford and Alan Bird.

However, despite claims that the site would be open as early as 2017, the resort remains unfinished. The resort's website now says that it will be 'relaunching soon'.

Halcyon Retreat UK Limited, in February 2026, extended its accounting period from May 31, 2025, to September 30, 2025, leading to more uncertainty.

Our senior partner said: "We are examining a variety of ways to help Halcyon Retreat investors to recover their money."

"We would be keen to speak to UK investors to explain their options."

Crowther Solicitors can offer no win, no fee agreements to help Halcyon Retreat victims who invested FROM or TO a UK bank.

Halcyon Retreat director Robin Barrasford has now been formally "charged" in France, following his arrest in Spain earlier this year.

Following his arrest in Spain on 20 May, Robin Barrasford has been 'mis en examen' by French investigators — the French equivalent of being formally charged. The specialist financial crime unit leading the investigation, JIRS de Bordeaux, confirmed the development this week, and said Mr Barrasford is being kept under judicial supervision.

Under the French legal system, being placed under formal investigation does not automatically mean a case will go to trial — the investigating judge can still dismiss it, and anyone in Mr Barrasford's position is presumed innocent unless and until convicted. A second individual connected with the scheme was placed under the same formal investigation on 24 June.

The UK's National Crime Agency has continued to assist the French investigation, carrying out searches at UK addresses and seizing devices, banking records and marketing materials in an effort to trace and recover any proceeds on behalf of investors.

The directors of Halcyon Retreat have previously said they had been working to secure financing for the business and had paused sales and operations while a suitable funding structure was put in place, acknowledging delays to certain payments as a result.

Crowther Solicitors believes this latest development is a significant step for investors seeking to recover their money, and we would like to hear from any further UK Halcyon Retreat investors who have not received the returns they were promised.

In April 2026, The Telegraph published a detailed investigation into the Halcyon Retreat, providing fresh evidence of the scale of investor losses and the legal proceedings now under way.

The Telegraph's reporter, Lora Jones, visited the site and found holiday homes standing empty, some no more than breeze-blocks, others not progressed beyond foundations — despite hopes of an early 2017 opening. The swimming pool was drained and police tape was stretched across the entrance to the château, which has been shuttered since 2023.

The investigation reveals that the development is now the subject of two separate police inquiries. Specialist French financial crime unit JIRS de Bordeaux is understood to be investigating, and Devon and Cornwall Police — where Halcyon Retreat UK was registered — confirmed it had received close to a dozen reports of alleged fraud relating to property investments linked to a former Tavistock-based company.

The Telegraph spoke to investors who had committed sums ranging from five to six figures. One had invested as much as €400,000. A French court placed Château La Cazine — a French company linked to the site — into liquidation last October after a restructuring plan failed. Companies House filings show Halcyon Retreat UK owed approximately £12.3 million to its creditors in 2023-24, with one related special purpose vehicle owing a further £8 million.

The directors of Halcyon Retreat told The Telegraph they had been actively working to secure financing and that no wrongdoing had been found. They said they were not aware of any Devon and Cornwall Police investigation and had not been contacted by the force. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which had been named as a franchise partner, confirmed it has no involvement in any investment in the project.

If you invested in the Halcyon Retreat FROM a UK bank and have not received the returns you were promised, Crowther Solicitors may be able to help you recover your funds.

One of the Halcyon Retreat directors has been arrested in Spain.

Robin Barrasford, a former British police officer, was arrested after an investigation into the collapsed holiday resort by French authorities.

We spoke to The Times newspaper about the latest news.

Our senior partner told The Times: "The clients were sold a dream that has turned into a nightmare. Many have lost their life-savings.

"The arrest of Robin Barrasford on suspicion of fraud is certainly very interesting as we explore exactly what has happened in this case. Mr Barrasford's arrest may make it easier for us to make claims on behalf of our clients who potentially wish to seek financial redress through bank fraud reimbursement models."

Mr Barrasford, 56, has been detained and the French authorities are hoping to extradite him back to France.

One of Crowther Solicitors' clients also spoke to The Times.

In 2022, Ray Holmes, 65, a retired local government officer from Derbyshire, paid £27,885 for a one-thirteenth share of a flat at the resort.

Mr Holmes received an initial payment of £1,136.58 and then a further payment of £1,421 last year. Since then he has not received a penny.

Fortunately, he only paid 50 per cent of the purchase price as the rest was due to be paid when the building work was completed.

"It hasn't put us on the streets but it would have been handy to have that almost £19,000," he told The Times.