November date for first payout to Lehmans creditors

NOVEMBER will see the first payout to unsecured creditors of Lehmans by administrators.

Although administrators from PwC have already handed out billions of pounds in client money held in segregated accounts over the past four years, an as yet unknown pot will be distributed to unsecured creditors at the end of November.

The past week has been eventful for the administrators, as they are set to receive a multibillion-pound settlement from the insolvent US arm of Lehmans, and agreeing a deal with liquidators of Lehman Brothers subsidiary LB Luxembourg.

"Through the combined efforts of the remaining 500 Lehman employees and a team of PwC specialists, we have reached a point where we can begin to return the general estate funds to unsecured creditors," said PwC partner and joint administrator Tony Lomas.

"While there remains a vast amount of work still to be done collecting in Lehman's assets, agreeing complex creditor claims and recovering segregated securities and cash for clients, this next step represents a major milestone in winding down Lehman's affairs in the UK.

"We expect the next significant milestone to be the payment of a first distribution from the separate Client Money Pool in the first half of 2013, followed by the recovery of circa $8bn of segregated securities and cash from LBI, for repatriation to clients."