Vantis enters administration
Chad Griffin and Simon Granger of FTI Consulting appointed joint administrators to Vantis
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.
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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