Compensation for the victims of the Woodford Equity Income fund collapse is a step nearer after creditors voted in favour this week of a scheme of arrangement.

The votes means that many investors should get back 80% of their losses - priced at the time the fund collapsed five years ago - starting from March.

The compensation bill is likely to be around £230m.

Investors have been waiting for five years for the redress scheme after the fund failed in 2019.

Link Fund Solutions, the authorised corporate director of Woodford funds, confirmed this week that approximately 93.7% in number and 96.1% by value of creditors had backed the compensation plan and scheme of arrangement.

In a statement Link said: “If the Scheme is approved on 18 January 2024, LFSL expects to make an initial payment of between £183.5 million and £200 million during the first quarter of 2024. The Settlement Fund includes all of LFSL’s available assets and a voluntary contribution of £60 million from LFSL’s parent company.”

Ryan Hughes, interim AJ Bell Investments managing director, said the vote was a positive move after years of waiting.

He said: “The overwhelming endorsement for the scheme of arrangement by embattled investors in the former Woodford Equity Income fund will come as a relief for many who will now be able to see an end in sight for this ongoing saga. Over four and a half years have passed since the fund suspended and with well over 90% of investors voting in favour of the scheme, there will be many who have done so simply because they are fed up with how long this process has taken.

“While there will no doubt be some that feel that this scheme doesn’t compensate them sufficiently for their losses, others will feel that getting back around 80% of the fund value on suspension will be more than they could have hoped for when the fund initially suspended.

“As we approach 2024, investors now move to a more detailed timeline that should see the scheme receive Court approval in mid-January and then by the end of March, investors should receive their first payment with between £183.5 million and £200 million being paid out. This first payment will represent the vast majority, with the potential for follow up smaller payments once all costs have been taken into account.

“While investors will in no way see this as an early Christmas present, the prospect of being able to draw a line under this whole sorry tale in the first half of 2024 will be seen by many of the thousands of investors trapped in the fund for all those years as a way of finally being able to move forwards.”