BDO receives extension as Halliwells administrators

BDO ADMINISTRATORS have been given a six month extension to their work at collapsed law firm Halliwells.

Usually an administration will last around 12 months however, joint-administrators Dermot Power and Shay Bannon have been given an extension of six months, Accountancy Age's sister publication LegalWeek reports.

The announcement comes just weeks after the revelation that unsecured creditors, including the taxman, will receive a share of around £600,000, despite claims totalling about £191.5m

Landlords make up the largest portion of unsecured creditors with a debt of £176.5m, with HM Revenue & Customs the next largest with around £4.3m owed in taxes and nearly £1.2m in VAT.

According to a creditor report published in July, BDO has so far run up fees of £1.06m for 5,013 hours of work, at an average rate of £212.69 per hour.

Last month the administrators launched a High Court claim against a group of former Halliwells partners, to recover more than £21m from properties previously owned and sold by the law firm.

BDO hopes to place the company into a creditors voluntary liquidation in the next six months.