Meetings of Creditors
WELCOME FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED
(Company Number 00133540)
Trading Name: Welcome Financial Services, Welcome Finance
Registered office: Mere Way, Ruddington Fields Business Park, Ruddington, Nottingham NG11 6NZ
Principal trading address: Mere Way, Ruddington Fields Business Park, Ruddington, Nottingham NG11 6NZ
On 11 July 2019 the High Court ordered that notice of the decision to be made by the Company’s creditors on the nomination of a liquidator be given by advertisement only and not by individual notice to the persons concerned (the ‘Order’).
Notice of a deemed consent procedure for the appointment of a liquidator was advertised on 25 November 2019. Subsequently, on 2 December 2019 a requisite value of creditors requested that a physical meeting be convened for the creditors’ decision procedure.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to the Order and Rule 15.12 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 that the directors of the Company are convening a meeting of creditors to be held at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP at 65 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1HT on 16 December 2019 at 2pm (London time).
The main purpose of the meeting is to decide on the appointment of a liquidator or liquidators of the Company (creditors are invited to nominate or vote for a specific person).
The Directors have nominated the following three individuals to be appointed liquidators of the Company:
- Edward George Boyle of KPMG LLP, 15 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5GL
- Ben Maitland Leith of KPMG LLP, 15 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5GL
- Sarah Megan Rayment of BDO LLP, 55 Baker Street, London W1U 7EU
(together, the ‘Joint Liquidators’).
At the meeting, the creditors will consider and if thought fit approve the following resolutions that:
- Edward George Boyle (IP No. 9077) and Ben Maitland Leith (IP No. 20514) of KPMG LLP, 15 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5GL, and Sarah Megan Rayment (IP No. 9162) of BDO LLP, 55 Baker Street, London W1U 7EU, be appointed as Joint Liquidators of the Company for the purpose of winding up the Company’s affairs and distributing its assets;
- any act to be done by the Joint Liquidators may be done by any one or more of the persons for the time being holding that office, and that such acts shall be carried out in accordance with the protocol entered into between the Joint Liquidators to be dated 16 December 2019;
- a Liquidation Committee be formed;
- the following four creditors be appointed as members of the Liquidation Committee:
Venor Capital Master Fund Ltd (represented by Ashwin K Reddy)
The Prudential Insurance Company of America (represented by Dianna Carr)
Ian Barry Dearing
Barclays Bank PLC (represented by David Dehorn); and
- alternative/additional members of the Liquidation Committee (creditors are invited to nominate specific creditor(s) and their representative(s)) be nominated.
As a result of the requirement to hold a physical meeting, the deemed consent procedure for the appointment of the liquidators is superseded.
In order to be entitled to vote creditors (including creditors with debts of less than £1,000) must deliver proxies and proofs of debt to Jonathan Briggs at Welcome Financial Services Limited, Mere Way, Ruddington Fields Business Park, Ruddington, Nottingham NG11 6NZ by 4pm on the business day before the meeting (being Friday 13 December 2019).
If a proof of debt form and, if applicable, a proxy form is not delivered in accordance with the instructions set out above, the vote by that creditor will be disregarded.
A proxy form, proof of debt form, directors’ Statement of Affairs and other information is available to download from the Company’s website at www.wfs.co.uk.
Notes
At the meeting, creditors will be asked if they would like a Liquidation Committee to be formed. The current four members of the creditors’ committee in the Company’s Scheme of Arrangement have nominated themselves to be four of the members of the Liquidation Committee and this is included as a proposed resolution on the proxy form. Together they represent £699,205,357 of the Scheme Claims. Creditors are also invited to include on the proxy form any alternative/additional nominations for membership. Such nominations for membership can only be accepted if the proxy form is returned by the decision date and we are satisfied as to the creditors’ eligibility under Rule 17.4.
Secured creditors (unless they surrender their security) must give particulars of their security and its value if they wish to vote on the decision, such vote being only to the value of those parts of their claims not covered by the value of their security.
It is at convener’s discretion whether or not to permit remote attendance. If a person attends the meeting remotely and is excluded for any part of that meeting, they are able to complain under Rule 15.38 to the chair or convener. They must do this either during the meeting or by 4pm on the business day following the day on which they claimed to have been excluded, or if they have asked for an indication of what occurred during the period of their exclusion, by 4pm on the business day following the day they received that indication.
Any creditor may, in accordance with Rule 15.35, appeal a decision, provided that appeal is made not later than 21 days after the decision date.
The meeting may be suspended or adjourned by the chair of the meeting and must be adjourned if it is so resolved at the meeting.
E-mail address / telephone number for contact: liquidation@wfs.co.uk / 0333 999 9505.
Alternative person to contact with enquiries about this matter: Ray Levy, KPMG LLP, 15 Canada Square, London E14 5GL, wfsl@kpmg.co.uk