Debts at one of the collapsed Metamorph network of firms have shot up to more than £7m, new documents have revealed.

A progress report for the liquidation of West Yorkshire outfit Beaumont ABS states that unsecured creditors have made 13 claims, totalling £5.8m. This was far beyond the estimated total liability of £1.4m set out in the statement of affairs published in December 2022. Of the 78 potential creditors identified then, 68 have yet to make claims.

Beaumont ABS was the first of the Metamorph Group companies to fold. It went into liquidation in November 2022 after being subject to a winding-up petition from estate agency Connells Limited.

The total of £2.3m in the statement of affairs included almost £36,000 owed to Connells, and £182,000 and £96,000 respectively to fellow estate agents Spicerhaart and Sequence. The firm also owed more than £39,000 in coronavirus support payments.

On top of the unsecured creditors, HM Revenue & Customs has lodged a final claim of around £779,000, while Barclays is owed almost £600,000 as a secured creditor, bringing the total owed to £7.19m.

The report, from insolvency firm Macintyre Hudson LLP, said that all creditors are likely to receive nothing. No realisations have been recovered from Beaumont’s assets and the SRA’s intervention – effected in December 2022 – means that nothing will be realised from any remaining work in progress.

Liquidators said there remain several ongoing investigations which may lead to some recoveries, including an in-depth review of the company’s bank statements.

Beaumont ABS Ltd, based in Wakefield, was part of the Manchester firm bpl Solicitors, which was part of the consolidator Metamorph Group. It was previously part of the US business LegalZoom but was acquired by Metamorph in April 2020. At the time it employed 129 staff.

All Metamorph firms have now closed, with the SRA intervening into several of the practices around a year ago.

 

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