PwC's Lehmans fees top £154m

Continuing efforts to unwind the affairs of Lehman Brothers European arm has earned PricewaterhouseCoopers more than £154m.

The firm has been involved in a global tug-of-war with other Lehmans divisions to claw back assets it believes are owed to the European arm on behalf of creditors.

Partners from PwC were appointed on 15 September 2008, but for the six months between 14 March and 15 September 2009, the creditors committee approved fees of £76,885,431, the firm said.

This brought PwC total fees since the start of its work to £154,118,804.

PwC reported that the average hourly charge out rate for its staff had decreased from £329 per hour to £302 as ' the ratio of less senior staff to more senior staff has increased.'

Steven Pearson, joint administrator said in a statement today:

"I am pleased to report that very significant progress has been made in the 12 months of this case – we have dealt with over $40bn of assets already and are now focusing effort on agreeing claims.

"Our actions have yielded significant recoveries which in due course will be paid to creditors. There are still some major challenges to address, which we will put before the UK court."

The job is likely to roll on well into the next decade, but PwC added it had obtained formal approval from the courts for an extension to the administration until November 2011.