Lehman Brothers' administrators return further £2.1bn

ADMINISTRATORS of Lehman Brothers International Europe (LBIE) managed to secure a further £2.1bn for creditors in the last six months, bringing returns to £12.8bn.

The latest development means the joint administrators have managed to increase total funds to pay-out creditors to £12.8bn, and already realised about £10.7bn of that.

However, creditors are collectively owed approximately £13.3bn to £15.7bn, although the final figure has yet to be calculated.

Tony Lomas, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: "Very significant progress has been made over the past six months. A further £2.1bn of client assets have been returned to their owners.

"Some major litigation also took place in the period, in respect of which a number of important legal appeals will be heard over the course of the rest of the year. The outcome of these proceedings will materially influence the value of the eventual recovery for ordinary unsecured creditors."

Tony Lomas, Steven Pearson, Dan Schwarzmann and Mike Jervis, partners at PwC, were appointed joint administrators on 15 September 2008.

The team managed to hold onto the LBIE workforce employing nearly 500 people to help wind the business down, and return money to creditors.

"Most of the staff working at Lehmans have been with us since the beginning of the administration and continue to enjoy the benefits of working for a fully functioning investment bank," said Jane Woolcott, joint chief operating officer of LBIE.

"In the last six months alone, we have recruited 45 staff and look to replace PwC staff with experienced external hires wherever possible. We also currently have eight employees on maternity leave and fully expect them to rejoin us when their maternity leave is completed."