The parent company of Hartley Pensions has appointed a former administrator of Derby County and Portsmouth football clubs to wind it up.
Andrew Andronikou, a restructuring specialist at Quantuma Advisory Ltd, was appointed by Wilton UK (Group) Ltd on 3 April 2023.
His colleagues Michael Kiely and Chris Newell have also been appointed to the job.
This was done through an out of court route to administration, which allows a company director to start being wound down without the need for a court hearing.
According to a filing on Companies House, Quantuma was appointed through this method known as a qualifying floating charge.
Regarding the appointment, Andronikou told Money Marketing: “Our interest is to get results for creditors. Our focus is trying to recover money for creditors out of pocket at this stage. We are not interested in fuelling media speculation.”
Wilton UK (Group) Ltd bought Hartley Pensions in 2016 and is wholly owned by Wilton Group Ltd in the Isle of Man.
Tony Flanagan is listed as the director of both Hartley Pensions and Wilton UK (Group) Ltd.
The wind up of Hartley Pensions has proven difficult. Clients have been left in limbo with uncertainty about the outcome.
It has emerged Wilton UK (Group) Ltd transferred ownership of its subsidiary Guinness Mahon Ltd to two people called Nicole Hewson and Margaret Flanagan on 16 September 2022.
Filings on Companies House for Guinness Mahon Ltd also show that two tranches of shares were allotted on 16 September 2022.
Money Marketing understands this fact could result in less money for Hartley Pensions creditors and investors.
A witness statement filed in the Leeds High Court by UHY Hacker Young (Hartley’s High-Court-appointed administrators) last December asked Tony Flanagan to “resign all of your directorships from the following trustee entities”.
This included Guinness Mahon Ltd and Hartley Pensions Trustees Ltd among others “in order to avoid the administrators having to incur the additional costs of taking steps to secure the client assets”.
Background
Money Marketing has reported extensively on the intercompany loans between Hartley Pensions and various Wilton affiliates.
These ultimately led to the Financial Conduct Authority stopping Hartley Pensions from conducting any new business in March 2022.
UHY Hacker Young is currently considering legal action to recover a loan made by the Sipp provider.
Hartley Pensions made the loan to Wilton & Partners Ltd (W&P), an Irish-registered entity within the Wilton Group.
That is according to a report by UHY Hacker Young.
Since Andronikou’s appointment to be Wilton UK (Group) Ltd’s administrator in April, a court case in the US has shown the company is involved in a different legal entanglement.
Wilton UK (Group) Ltd and Wilton Group Ltd have been involved in legal action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Both companies are being sued by investment banker Vikram Grover for damages due to breaches of contract and lost property.
Money Marketing understands Grover had an agreement to buy a number of assets from Wilton entities including, Money Marketing believes, Hartley Pensions.
Grover and Flanagan were meant to come to a settlement during late October and early November last year.
But a court filing from 29 November 2022 shows this fell through.
In the US case Wilton’s legal representatives Edward S. Stone and Catherine Simmons-Gill Esq removed themselves from the case.
In a court filing from the end of April signed by Stone he writes: “Given the lack of communication from the Wilton defendants, and the failure of the Wilton defendants to pay for legal services rendered, both Ms. Simmons-Gill and I immediately filed our motions to withdraw.”
Money Marketing asked Andronikou about how Quantuma was appointed as an administrator and if the floating charge is valid.
According to a Companies House entry for Wilton UK (Group) Ltd the persons entitled under the charge are: Michael Anthony Flanagan [Tony Flanagan], Nicole Hewson and Margaret Flanagan.
They are all listed as the Trustees of the Wildwood Trust, based in the Isle of Man.
On the floating charge Andronikou said it is valid as “our lawyers have said so”.
When Money Marketing asked if Andronikou is aware of Flanagan being involved in US litigation he said: “Not about the US, no, but I know there is loads of litigation around this. There will be a report out to creditors in the next five to six weeks.”
Flanagan did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
