RSM Tenon enters administration and assets sold to Baker Tilly
ACCOUNTANCY firm RSM Tenon has been placed into administration, with all of its assets immediately sold to rival Baker Tilly.
RSM Tenon said it had appointed Deloitte as administrator after its lender, Lloyds, withdrew support following the failure of the solvent sale to Baker Tilly.
RSM Tenon asked the London Stock Exchange to suspend its shares as a result.
In a statement RSM Tenon said: “Consequently, and in the absence of any other available facilities, the company does not expect to continue to be able to meet its liabilities as they fall due. The board of the company therefore concluded that, in such circumstances, the appointment of administrators was the most appropriate course of action.”
Matt Smith, Nick Edwards and Clare Boardman, who is based in the Leeds office of Deloitte, were therefore appointed as joint administrators to RSM Tenon group this morning.
RSM Tenon and the other principal trading entities continue to trade as normal and are not affected by this. No RSM Tenon employees, clients or suppliers (other than Lloyds) are expected to be materially affected. RSM Tenon employs about 2,300 staff at 35 offices around the country, including Yorkshire.
Baker Tilly said this transaction allows for the “ongoing success of RSM’s Tenon’s profitable trading businesses, free from the burden of the group’s historic debt obligations, as part of an enlarged and financially strong Baker Tilly group”.
It said: “We believe that this is an excellent outcome for RSM Tenon’s clients and employees, allowing for enhanced service excellence and career development opportunities.”
Laurence Longe, Baker Tilly’s national managing partner, said: “As a people business, the key asset of RSM Tenon has always been its highly skilled and professional workforce of partners and staff.
“Baker Tilly and RSM Tenon are businesses of a comparable scale operating in similar markets across the UK and internationally, and so combining our strengths and skills will provide us with new opportunities for growth, as well as further strengthening and expanding our offering to the market.”
Matt Smith, joint Administrator and restructuring services partner at Deloitte, said: “RSM Tenon is a well-known accounting and advisory business serving a wide variety of industries.
“Immediately following our appointment, a sale of RSM Tenon Group’s trading subsidiaries to Baker Tilly was agreed and is expected to complete within two weeks, following regulatory and internal approval at Baker Tilly, which we are advised is a formality.
“We believe the proposed sale to Baker Tilly represents the best outcome for the RSM group. The management of the group have stabilised the business, returning it to profitability over the past 18 months and making this transaction possible to secure its future.
“In the meantime we are working closely with the directors of the trading entities and their management and staff to continue to support the business until the sale is completed. We appreciate the cooperation and support from the staff, customers, suppliers and landlords during this period.”
Matt Smith, Nick Edwards and Clare Boardman of Deloitte have also been appointed Joint Administrators of Premier Strategies, a subsidiary entity which historically provided tax advice, but ceased selling new business in March 2012.
RSM Tenon Limited, RSM Tenon Investment Solutions Limited, RSM Tenon Financial Management Limited, RSM Corporate Transactions Limited, RSM Tenon Corporate Finance Limited and certain non-trading subsidiary companies remain outside of any insolvency process and are included in the agreed sale to Baker Tilly.
