RBS still owed £15.7m from Halliwells

ROYAL Bank of Scotland (RBS) has received just £2m of the £17.7m it was owed by collapsed law firm Halliwells, according to a new report to creditors by liquidators BDO.

The report shows that BDO has received around £2.9m to date in payments from successor firms which took on parts of the business but expects to eventually receive around £7.7m over the nexy three years.

The firms have also repaid over £3m of partnership practice loans which were owed by former Halliwells partners – Hill Dickinson has repaid £1.75m and Gateley has repaid £1.85m.

The report states that as the firm has now moved into liquidation, it will disclaim all leases on properties that have yet to be surrendered.

Liquidation will also give BDO increased powers under the Insolvency Act of 1986 in its investigations into the affairs of the firm.

It confirmed that “a number” of claims are being pursued, and that realisations “will be for the benefit of secured and unsecured creditors”.

Preferential creditors have been paid more than £187,000, while unsecured creditors are owed more than £164m – the bulk of which is rent owed in Halliwells’ former 3 Hardman Square headquarters at Spinningfields in Manchester.

One of the cases being brought by BDO is against 32 former partners who shared in a £20.4m reverse premium payment from Allied London for signing a lease on the property. An initial round of mediation on this claim is due to take place within the next few weeks.

BDO is also seeking the return of drawings taken out of the firm by former fixed share and equity partners.

BDO’s own bill in handling the 18-month administration period has reached almost £1.2m – it has racked up more than 5,500 hours at an average rate of £207 an hour.

Over £220,000 has also been spent separately on investigating the affairs of the LLP, or 627 hours at an average rate of £351 per hour.