Halliwells to appoint administrator; BLG and Hill Dicks vie for assets
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Halliwells has filed a notice of its intention to appoint an administrator, with Hill Dickinson and Barlow Lyde & Gilbert (BLG) understood to be circling to take the firm’s assets.
The firm filed the notice at Manchester High Court’s district registry with BDO Stoy Hayward partner Dermot Power expected to be appointed administrator. It is understood that the firm’s bank, RBS, will appoint Power.
It is likely that the firm will go into pre-packed administration if a purchaser for the business’s assets can be identified today.
It is thought that Liverpool-based Hill Dickinson is interested in acquiring Halliwellls’ Manchester corporate practice, as this would give it a leg up in the North-West city after Darryl Cooke, who the firm hired from DLA Piper in 2007 to build the Manchester corporate practice, left earlier this year.
BLG is believed to be interested in acquiring Halliwells’ insurance practice, which includes major clients such as AIG and AXA.
The news comes after Halliwells experienced a drop in profitability and a substantial rise in debt at the firm over the last two years. This resulted in RBS taking out a debenture over the firm’s assets last year (19 February 2009).
The firm has not announced financial results for the 2009-10 financial year, but last year reported a drop in turnover of five per cent to £83m. Average profit per equity partner (PEP) fell by around a third to below £300,000 while the firm’s profit margin stood at 14 per cent.
Halliwells has made several rounds of redundancies since the start of the recession and last year reorganised its finances. This was followed by the unprecedented move of using its property, fixtures and fittings, LLP goodwill and IP as security on an extension of its lending facilities with RBS.
BLG and Hill Dickinson declined to comment. Managament at Halliwells did not return calls for comment.
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Readers' comments (57)
Anonymous | 25-Jun-2010 12:49 pm
confirming what we all have known for a long time.
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Spinningfields Landlord | 25-Jun-2010 1:16 pm
So, from being a firm 'on the rise' to a firm about to enter administration what happened in between ? Is this all about the debt or are there deeper internal issues at play?
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Anonymous | 25-Jun-2010 1:45 pm
Oh dear wot a shame, i was in the first round of the cull. Pretty nasty i can tell you.
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Anonymous Lawyer of London | 25-Jun-2010 2:01 pm
We all know about this...
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Anonymous | 25-Jun-2010 2:08 pm
I find this a sad time for the many employee'sof halliwell's who may be about to lose their livlyhoods through the unreserved greed of a very few, I hope those few can live with their conscience as I'm sure they won't be bumping into any former employees at the job centre or the benefits office.
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Anonymous | 25-Jun-2010 2:39 pm
Anyone who knows the firm or has worked there knows that the firm is built in the utter greed of a selected few. You reap what you sow. Good riddance
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Joan | 25-Jun-2010 2:53 pm
After what my so called collegues got up to and they know who they are. Have a nice life!
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Anonymous | 25-Jun-2010 3:27 pm
Wonder whose next if the banks are pulling the rug on law firms - watch them players fall...
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Anonymous | 25-Jun-2010 3:32 pm
I was wondering what took the bank so long.
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Greg Arious | 25-Jun-2010 3:42 pm
Its interesting that they have still been hiring at partner level up to quite recently, both in London and the regions to replace the many, many people who have walked. I'm afraid those new recruits only have themelves to blame for joining this firm given its well publicised problems.
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