While Grant was in Scotland, they needed to buy more shares at a time of difficulty in February 1728, due to the petition of the City of London. The chronology of this is confused as the petition was later (see below). These shares were bought for the account of four partners (excluding Grant, who was in Scotland about mines). All this was financed by borrowing money from the company on false pledges. At one point they thought that the profits would redeem all pledges, except Robinson's. The management of affairs was left to Thompson. The purchases were made by various persons as trustees, but Robinson persuaded the trustees that their pledges to transfer the stock to the rest of the syndicate were lost, and got the shares issued to himself, further swindling his partners to the amount of £100,000.