Vantis Nearing Administration

It is thought that the troubled top 20 accounting firm Vantis is on the verge of entering Administration.

Vantis said it is preparing a market statement amid mounting speculation that it is about to ‘bite the bullet’ and appoint Administrators.

The firm had its shares suspended last month, after it said it could not be certain of sufficient funding to continue as a going concern.  Sources close to the firm say the business could enter Administration as early as Wednesday morning.

A senior insolvency practitioner has said that rival firm Tenon is considering acquiring parts of the firm’s London business.  The firm’s business recovery department, in London, may be bought by three former Vantis insolvency practitioners.

Speculation in the industry has focused on insolvency practitioners Jeremy French and Geoff Rowley as two of the three potential buyers.

The firm has been under pressure, in part due to its failure to cure fees from to its troubled Administration of Stanford International Bank, operated by Texan Allen Stanford.

In June liquidators from Vantis working on the Stanford case were removed from their posts by an Antiguan court.  The firm appealed the decision.

It is understood the rest of Vantis could be broken up and separate local practices sold to existing managing partners.

FTI Consulting has been advising Vantis, it remains to be clarified whether they will be appointed administrators.

Posted at 04:37PM Jun 29, 2010 by Marc Stenton in Insolvency  |  Comments[0]