‘BDO issues £21m claim against ex-Halliwells partners’

THE administrators of failed law firm Halliwells have issued a £21m claim against 32 partners who took money out of the firm following its controversial Manchester city centre property deal.

It has filed the claim in a bid to recoup most of the £24.5m paid out to ex-partners in a “reverse premium” deal in 2007 after signing the lease for its HQ in Hardman Square.

The partners facing claims include ex-managing partner Ian Austin and senior partner Alec Craig.

In the run-up to the firm’s collapse last June, it managed to hammer out a deal which saw most of the partners join either Birmingham-based Gateley, Hill Dickinson or Barlow Lyde & Gilbert.

BDO has appointed law firm Addleshaw Goddard to pursue the action against former partners and has warned them to keep any money received the deal on trust.

The action follows a decision by ex-partners to settle a £3m claim with Himor Group over the lease of the company’s former head office in St James’s Court, Manchester.

Last month, joint administrator Dermot Power of BDO wrote to the former partners warning them of potential action.

At the time, Mr Power told TheBusinessDesk.com that the letter was “the culmination of one of the phases of the forensic work.

He added: “I expect this will be the first stage in some quite complex litigation.”

BDO has recently had its administration period in charge of Halliwells extended for another year.