Vantis enters administration

Top 20 firm Vantis has announced it has entered administration weeks after suspending its shares.

A statement by the board said while directors had “vigorously explored” every available avenue to reduce debt, there was a lack of progress with those options.

Chad Griffin and Simon Granger of FTI Consulting have now been appointed joint administrators.

The firm this morning announced the sale of key businesses including its business recovery services, business advisory services, tax business and financial management department.

It’s business recovery services in London, Hornchurch, Birmingham, Manchester, Leicester, North East, St Albans and Worthing have been sold off to a partnership of former business recovery partners.

The financial management sector, together with its tax services, in London, Epsom and Leicester have been sold off to listed rivals RSM Tenon, which also purchased the business recovery business in Marlow.

The firm’s Loughton, St Albans, Sidcup, North East, Beaconsfield and London City tax offices have also been sold to locally based partners.

In a statement, administrators said the sales provided the “best available outcome for stakeholders, preserving the most jobs and maximising recoveries to creditors”.

Vantis has had a tough year. Its tax arm suffered a reputational hit when an investigation into charity gift aid tax schemes saw now-former managers Robert Faichney and David Perrin facing criminal charges.

The pair launched a legal challenge against the firm for more than £1m in unpaid salaries, bonuses and damages for wrongful dismissal.

The firm has also been under pressure, in part due to its failure to cure fees from the troubled administration of Stanford International Bank, operated by Texan Allen Stanford.

In June, liquidators from Vantis working on the Stanford case were removed from their posts by an Antiguan court. The high court of Antigua decided Van tis' Nigel Hamilton-Smith and Peter Wastell, joint liquidators of Stanford, should be removed from office and alternative liquidators appointed. The firm has appealed the decision.

Auditors, Ernst & Young, issued a going concern in February when the firm released its interim results. The statement warned uncertainties from receiving funds from the Stanford case, combined with cash flow and cost reduction initiatives, put doubt on its ability to continue.

Further reading:
Breaking News: Vantis close to administration
Tax scheme suspects Faichney and Perrin sue Vantis
FTI Consulting called in to advise Vantis