The UK’s advertising regulator has banned a Capgroup Int Ltd promotion after ruling that the whisky‑cask and gold‑coin investment firm misled consumers on reviews, media exposure and the risks associated with its products.
In a decision published on Wednesday, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld all four issues investigated, concluding that Capgroup’s website overstated its Trustpilot rating, implied editorial media coverage that had not taken place, and failed to provide mandatory risk warnings for unregulated investment products.
The ad, seen in April, claimed Capgroup had 27,023 “Excellent” Trustpilot reviews and displayed logos of Sky News, The Times, Daily Mail, GB News, Metro and The Telegraph under the wording “as seen on”. The ASA found Capgroup had no such Trustpilot rating, and that the media logos related to paid advertorials and TV advertising rather than independent editorial coverage.
The regulator said consumers were likely to interpret the claim as evidence of editorial endorsement, rendering the ad misleading. It breached rules on misleading advertising, substantiation and endorsements.
The ASA also ruled that Capgroup omitted material information by failing to state prominently that whisky‑cask and physical‑gold investments are unregulated and not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service.
Further, the ad referenced past performance – including claims that rare whisky had delivered 8–15% annual returns – without stating that investments can go down as well as up or that past performance is not a reliable guide. Evidence provided by Capgroup showed the returns applied to only 65% of casks and were partly based on valuations rather than realised sales.
The ASA ordered that the ad must not appear again in its original form and instructed Capgroup to ensure future promotions include accurate ratings, avoid implying editorial coverage, and carry clear risk warnings for unregulated investments and variable returns.
The full judgement is available here.