Aldgate Tower

The creditors of now-insolvent Ince & Co are facing a multimillion-pound shortfall in what is owed to them, the administrators' progress report has revealed. 

Ince & Co was acquired by listed firm Gordon Dadds – now known as Ince Gordon Dadds LLP – as part of a pre-pack administration sale on December 31, 2018. The progress report, made public today (August 18) by administrators Quantuma via Companies House, reveals the assets, creditors, debtors and costs associated with the process.

The report shows that legacy Ince & Co's former members have made 29 claims totalling £15.8 million in relation to capital and current account balances. In addition, the firm's former France branch – which did not participate in the prepack sale – has claimed just shy of £5 million. The firm's other main creditors, both secured and unsecured, include trade creditors, banks, insurers and landlords among others.

Unsecured creditors of the main entity subject to the administration – Ince & Co London, now known as Blue Co London LLP – have just shy of £4 million available to them in the way of realised assets, the report shows. This means they will likely suffer an estimated deficiency of more than £2.7 million, the statement shows.

Meanwhile, the creditors of Blue International Services are likely to face a more than £8 million hit, should the administration progress as forecast. After expenses – such as fees connected to administrators, legal advisers, banks and contractors – £351,713 in assets were realised in the administration of the legacy firm's services branch.

As things stand, once secured and preferential creditors are paid, the London LLP's unsecured creditors will receive less than 60% of what is owed to them, while those of the international services sub-company will receive just 4%.

The shortfall owes primarily to liabilities connected to bank loans and facilities that Ince & Co took out. This is composed almost entirely of debts owed to key creditor RBS, which has made a £6.3 million claim against both the London LLP and the services branch. The estimated outcome statement indicates that these liabilities either have been or are expected to be paid.

The administration document also shows that Ince Gordon Dadds paid a nominal £1 as consideration for the assignment of legacy Ince & Co's six leases at Aldgate Tower. So far, the  landlord has been paid £558,481 out of assets realised.

Meanwhile, the administrators have settled legal fees of £153,000 – owed principally to Pinsent Masons, which was brought in around the same time administrators were appointed. However, £31,000 of this remains outstanding. Separately, Pinsents partner Samantha Palmer, who is overseeing much of the administration process as solicitor manager, is owed more than £173,000, of which £97,000 has now been paid.

The joint administrators at Quantuma, Andrew Hosking and Sean Bucknall, are meanwhile expecting to receive about £700,000 for their services. 

City firm Macfarlanes too has made an as yet unapproved claim of £59,000 in the way of pre-administration costs.

Ince's international LLP combined with Ince Gordon Dadds in April this year following a protracted process, while a dispute over client data between Ince Gordon Dadds and the now-independent France branch rumbles on.