The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fall-out from Muirfield collapse continues
DISCUSSIONS: Administrators holding talks with building firm’s debtors
A confidential report prepared by the administrators of failed Dundee building firm Muirfield Contracts continues to be scrutinised by the UK Insolvency Service.
The company – which had businessman Thomas John Stodart as joint chairman – was one of the largest independent building contractors in Tayside when it collapsed suddenly in March 2015, with the loss of 284 jobs.
Administrators Campbell Dallas have spent more than two years trying to realise the company’s assets and wind up its affairs.
In March, the administrators filed notice with Companies House of a move from administration to creditors’ voluntary liquidation.
However, joint administrators Derek Forsyth and David Hunter have only now filed their administrators’ progress report for the period between September 12 last year and March 8, the date of the liquidation move.
In their update the administrators said the debtors ledger at the date of the administration consisted of 433 balances amounting to £7.46 million, including retention balances of £2.36m.
During the latest period of administration they recovered approximately £997,402 following “extensive correspondence and discussions” with a number of Muirfield’s debtors, and the sale of the firm’s former Aberdeen office at Altens Industrial Estate was also completed for £287,500.
However, the administrators said there would be no recovery from other debtor balances due by Ensco 395 Ltd and Torridon Trading Company, which had both respectively been placed into liquidation and administration.
A sum of £85,000 was received from Vasanat International Limited in the period, a company that traded as Scotttish Electric Group (SEG) and which collapsed into liquidation this month with the loss of almost 100 jobs.
Mr Stodart was an active officer of Ensco 395, Torridon and Muirfield at the time they ceased trading and was the owner of SEG at the time of its demise.
Mr Stodart told The Courier last week he had invested £1.2m into SEG, £450,000 of which he claimed had been ploughed into the business in the last few weeks in which it was trading.
In the Muirfield update report, Mr Forsyth said payments had been made in the prior period to former staff members in relation to wage and holiday pay arrears.
The second ranked floating charge creditor – former Muirfield owner Maurice McKay – had also received payment in full.
Mr Forsyth said it was anticipated that sufficient funds will be available to pay a dividend to unsecured creditors.
The administrators have received 535 claims totalling £15m from unsecured creditors to date, although company documents indicate there are 1,246 potential claimants.
Mr Forsyth also confirmed a report on the conduct of directors and shadow directors of Muirfield had been passed to the UK Insolvency Service.
“Since submitting our report we have been in correspondence, discussions and meetings with the Insolvency Service and have assisted them with a further review of the company’s books and records as part of their assessment of the report and determination of what, if any, further proceedings are to be raised against officers of the company,” he said.
The Insolvency Service last week said its investigation into Muirfield was ongoing and no timetable for its conclusion was available.