Suppliers
What does ‘going into administration’ mean?
Going into administration means the Company is being taken under the management of administrators who are licensed insolvency practitioners. The Joint Administrators assume control of the Company from its current directors.
Administration is one of a number of insolvency processes and is intended to either:
Rescue the company as a going concern (primary objective)
Achieve a better result for creditors as a whole than in liquidation (if rescue is not possible); or
Realise property to make a distribution to secured or preferential creditors (only if (1) and (2) are not reasonably practical).
What is an administrator?
An administrator is an officer of the Court and is qualified to manage the affairs of a business when it is insolvent. It is their role to take control of a Company’s affairs when it is in financial difficulty and try to find a longer term solution for it.
The Joint Administrators act as agents of the Company and without personal liability.
What has happened?
Due to significant outages for remedial works over recent years, the Company was unable to generate sufficient cash to continue operations and has now exhausted all funding provided. To get the site fully operational, further funding of at least c.£13m was required. This amount could not be provided by either the Shareholders nor the Company's lenders. Following which, the directors took the decision to appoint administrators.
Following the appointment of the Joint Administrators, a controlled wind down of the business will be undertaken, trading ceased immediately on appointment.
I am owed money. What notification will I receive?
The Joint Administrators will issue a letter to all known creditors of the Company within 7 days of the Joint Administrators’ appointment. This letter will include details for creditors on how to make a claim in the administration.
The Joint Administrators will also publish their proposals for achieving the purpose of administration to all known members and creditors via this case website (see documents to download section) within 8 weeks of the administration appointment but it is likely to be sooner. This report will outline steps taken by the Joint Administrators since their appointment, detailed information on the proposed strategy for the administration going forwards, including estimated returns for the various classes of creditor.
The Joint Administrators are also required to provide a written update on the administration to all known creditors every six months. This report will be published directly to the case website within one month of every six month anniversary.
I have goods on site. Can I get them back?
If you believe you have a Retention of Title claim over goods that you have supplied to the Company please complete a retention of title questionnaire and return it to us via email at uk_lrel_suppliers@pwc.com. You will be asked for further details, such as a copy of your standard terms and conditions, copies of unpaid invoices, and other evidence as is required by us.
Our appointment means that you can’t start or continue legal action, enforce security or repossess any goods held by the Company unless we agree or the court allows it.
When will I get paid?
Payment for goods and services provided prior to the date of appointment will not be paid for as an expense of the administration estate.
All outstanding amounts at the date of the Joint Administrators’ appointment rank as an unsecured claim in the administration.
At this stage we do not expect that there will be funds available to make a distribution to any class of creditor, although this will depend on the final level of asset realisations. Once we have more information on dividend prospects, we will update our website and if we think there will be funds available to pay a dividend to unsecured creditors in due course, we will write to all creditors to set out how to make a claim. You do not need to take any action at this stage with regard to submitting a claim to the Joint Administrators.
However, should you wish to, there is a proof of debt form available on the website to download and complete.
Please return any claim forms to the address below or by email uk_lrel_creditors@pwc.com
At this stage, If your claim includes VAT, you may be able to obtain VAT bad debt relief six months after your supply.
Will you refund the costs incurred in preparing a claim?
We are unable to refund the costs in preparing a claim. Consequently, we cannot refund any expenses incurred in obtaining information necessary to make a claim.
For all other supplier queries, please email: uk_lrel_suppliers@pwc.com
