A Lincoln couple has been left devastated after their investment in a holiday lodge led to the loss of their life savings. Amidst the pandemic, the anonymous pair decided to invest in a lodge at The Hideaway at Dunson Fens, Southrey, located just ten miles from Lincoln.

However, the dream turned into a nightmare when the management company, which had been providing them with £1,000 monthly returns for nearly four years, unexpectedly went into liquidation. A 50 year old Lincoln resident confided to Lincolnshire Live: "The stress is unimaginable, we felt like we had made a shrewd investment but to have it taken away is soul-destroying."

In 2020, the couple sold their home and downsized, aiming to economise while living off savings. During that period, he took the initiative to retrain as an engineer remotely while searching for employment. He shared with the local news outlet: "We considered how best to make an investment with the money from our house sale to pay the bills until I could get a job once qualified."

Their attention was captured by an advertisement for a holiday lodge near Lincoln, leading to discussions with Liv Lodges, who promised an attractive guaranteed annual rental return of eight per cent, reports . Formerly under the trading name LL Lincoln LTD, Liv Lodges offered three 'buy back' options to the investors.

According to a brochure reviewed by Lincolnshire Live, the firm pledged that they would repurchase the lodge at 105 per cent of its initial value after five years, 107 per cent after seven, or 110 per cent at the decade mark. The couple toured the site in December 2020, witnessing the lodges being set up. They encountered two directors, one of whom claimed to be a former professional footballer who had purchased several lodges himself and mentioned that other professional footballers had also invested.

The engineer stated: "We wanted to make sure everything was agreed and legally binding, I spent hours scrutinising contracts with our solicitors, making lots of amendments to make sure everything was above board, spending thousands in legal fees. I trawled the internet for information regarding the owner of Dunston Fens Holiday Park and the directors of the LL companies."

The couple meticulously examined spreadsheets and a brochure listing board members and were "convinced the company was structurally sound" but still harboured "nagging doubts" and proceeded cautiously. One of the directors even paid them a visit at their home, bringing his toddler along.

After making corrections and modifications to the contract, they decided to proceed with the £149,990 purchase in April 2021. The lodge generated a monthly income for three and a half years. As part of the agreement, the couple could spend 14 days a year in any of the parks managed by the other LL companies. However, in 2024 the payments ceased and a new park management company was introduced.

A few months later, LL Lincoln Ltd dissolved, leaving the couple claiming they "had no other options" but to sign up with the new management company. He lamented: "As far as we understand things, nobody managed to sell their unit back to the park for the promised 105 per cent."

When discussing the new agreement, he indicated that they believed site fees were covered. They experienced a robust booking rate of 90 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, yielding revenues of £8.708, yet post-fees, they netted a mere £1,394. He disclosed: "We then received a letter from another solicitors demanding that we pay the site fees that were in arrears, which was a total amount of £6,600." With monthly site fees of about £550, the initial quarter saw them down by £256.

With little hope of selling, he conveyed the property's lacklustre appeal to buyers, stating: "We have basically lost the full £150,000. We are not making money from rental and instead have these ongoing costs." Their situation has taken a serious toll, with him revealing: "This has devastated us to the point where my partner has become ill with anxiety and stress. Our savings have gone."

Describing their financial distress, he said: "The future we have tried our best to safeguard is in tatters. Even now we are facing a solicitor's demand for £6600 in overdue ground rent, which we were told would be paid by the new management company and just can't afford." Confronted with a harsh ultimatum, he explained: "To not pay it means we forfeit the lodge" He further elucidated the irony of their predicament: "So families are having their holidays in our lodge, which we are more or less paying for."

The couple have now sought assistance from the Holiday Park Advice Centre, a division of European Consumer Claims, in their quest to reclaim their money. Lincolnshire Live reached out to Five Star Park Management for a comment but received no response by the time of publication.

Additionally, the liquidators for LL Lincoln Ltd were approached but chose not to comment.