lucasross.co.uk

Poor impression so far

[Review written & posted on 5 July 2022]Context: I am a creditor of a specialist investment/trading firm where assets vanished from my non-discretionary account without permission or explanation. Public records at Companies House show I am one of 200 or so such individual creditors. The firm in question - which traded through an associated company using unnamed suppliers, and had a foreign-domiciled parent - put forward Lucas Ross Limited to handle its proposed liquidation. Poor impression of proceedings so far: After receiving details of all creditors from their client in early December 2021, it took Lucas Ross almost 10 weeks just to hold an initial Creditors’ Meeting, mid-February 2022. A choice of two proposed liquidators - Lucas Ross and AN Other - was put to creditor vote. Although the live vote at the Meeting appeared in clear favour of AN Other, the following day it was Lucas Ross who declared themselves appointed Liquidator. The published final voting tally revealed 6 previously undisclosed creditors - their ballots submitted by proxy - had swung the vote in Lucas Ross’ favour.Anomaly: not one of these 6 previously undisclosed creditors had been recorded on the List of Company Creditors (part of a document signed as a sworn ‘Statement of Truth’) circulated ahead of the Meeting. 5 of these creditors had demonstrable links to Lucas Ross’ client. The sixth was purportedly the largest of all creditors. You would have thought these were not the profile of creditor you could forget you had. Why had they not featured on the official record? Were they genuine creditors and thus properly entitled to vote? It seems short-sighted of Lucas Ross not to have issued any form of appropriate statement to address this anomaly - if only to explain how and when it would be clarified. Instead, the matter has been passed over in silence for almost 5 months, the questions have lingered and grown with the entirely predictable consequence that many continue to question the legitmacy of the liquidator’s appointment. Separately, communication from Lucas Ross has in my experience been poor: far too many emails have not been replied to or even acknowledged. Basic requests for information have gone unanswered. I write as a creditor who has tried to provide relevant information to aid a liquidator perform their statutory duties.Overall, I question and remain to be convinced whether Lucas Ross have the personnel and comparable case experience to address the specific demands of this particular liquidation in which public interest is so high.The staff at Lucas Ross I have spoken to - each very personable over the phone - recognise that the inner workings, inter- and intra-company dealings of this particular specialist investment/trading firm, are a far cry from those of the companies and sectors with which Lucas Ross are more familiar.

Date of experience: Jul 05, 2022