Budget sold to competitor Avis
Budget Rent-A--Car International has been sold to its competitor Avis in the first UK administration of a US-registered company.
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Kroll Buchler Phillips partners Simon Freakley and Gurpal Johal, BRACI’s administrators, announced today the sale of ‘certain assets’ of the company’s Europe, Middle East and Africa subsidiary to Avis Europe.
The company went into administration last month following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing by its US parent in August. The company had been suffering from a drop in tourism and the global economic slowdown.
The administration of BRACI set a legal precedent as being the first non-EU company to be placed into the UK insolvency proceedings by the courts.
Freakley said: ‘The sale to Avis Europe plc demonstrates how innovative use of European insolvency legislation for a non-EU company can save businesses as well as preserve value for creditors.
‘We believe that over the next few years it will become much more common for a financially distressed US-registered company to seek an Administration order for its UK operations to complement its Chapter 11 filing in the US.’