Aldgate Tower, Ince & Co's former offices, now leased by The Ince Group

The wind-up of the now-insolvent Ince & Co has recovered about £4.5 million, with between £2 million and £3 million more expected to come in, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. 

The recovered money will be distributed among creditors and will cover the costs of the administration, in a process is that expected to "go on for some time", the person added. 

Ince & Co was wound up as part of a pre-packaged administration takeover by listed firm Gordon Dadds at the turn of the New Year. It resulted in the AIM-listed firm acquiring much of Ince & Co's assets, comprised primarily of the firm's partner base and intellectual property, leaving Ince & Co a shell that was placed into administration and later renamed 'Blue Co London'.

Earlier this year, Legal Week, the U.K. arm of Law.com, reported that the creditors – which include landlords Brookfield and lender RBS – were set to lose millions on the administration. A progress report showed that Ince & Co's former members had made 29 claims totalling £15.8 million, largely linked to capital and current account balances. 

According to current figures, this could leave creditors about £8 million to £9 million out of pocket. Among those losing out are likely to include former partners, who claim they are owed millions by the firm.

In January, a group of former Ince & Co partners turned to Eversheds Sutherland to front them in a dispute about money they claim they are owed. The terms of the pre-pack administration meant ex-partners faced losses of as much as £500,000, including six-figure personal loans paid into the firm plus a potential tax bill.

The progress report showed that a large amount of the defunct firm's liabilities are tied to bank loans and facilities that Ince & Co took out. This is composed almost entirely of debts owed to key creditor RBS, which made a £6.3 million claim.

Among the key matters being dealt with now, according to the person, is so-called loss relief, which relates to reducing the firm's corporation tax burden, and maximising returns to creditors.

Soon after the shortfall was reported, restructuring and insolvency partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Richard Tett commented: "Recovering value from an insolvent law firm is notoriously difficult and, by definition, the unsecured creditors are highly likely to lose a lot of money. 

"Much of the value in a professional services firm is in the work in progress. However, as client service on current transactions is often disrupted by the insolvency, that value can be greatly reduced. Also, if there is secured debt as there is here, that takes first slice of any value. In fact, a 60% recovery for unsecured debt is not too bad compared to many insolvencies."

Gordon Dadds' takeover of Ince & Co was seen across the industry as a move to annex the 100-year-old shipping firm's name, goodwill and international reach in a bid to bolster the Gordon Dadds' listed share price and brand recognition.

Gordon Dadds now trades on the AIM market as The Ince Group, which was as of midday today (November 27) trading at 119p per share.