Buckley: Deeply disappointing
West of England law firm BLB Solicitors was forced into administration after a sale fell through at a late stage, its administrators have revealed.
Around 90 staff have reportedly lost their jobs at the firm, which the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) intervened in five days after it entered administration.
BLB had offices across Bath, Bristol, Swindon, Almondsbury, Trowbridge and Bradford-on-Avon.
Gareth Buckley and Steve Elliott of The Insolvency Company, part of Sumer Group, said that prior to their appointment as administrators, they worked with BLB’s leadership team “to explore all available options to preserve the business and protect employment”.
Their statement went on: “Through this work a buyer was found and a sale of the firm as a going concern was agreed in principle, which would have safeguarded a significant number of jobs. However, and unfortunately, the buyer withdrew at a late stage, leaving insufficient time to seek viable alternatives.
“As the administrators are not solicitors, under SRA rules it was not possible to trade the firm whilst seeking a new buyer. As a result, the administrators had no alternative upon being appointed but to cease trading and sadly make all staff redundant.”
They said their focus was now on obtaining the maximum value from realisation of the firm’s assets.
Mr Buckley, head of insolvency at The Insolvency Company, said: “We worked hard to secure a sale of the business as a going concern, which would have preserved a significant number of jobs, and we had a deal in place. It is deeply disappointing that it fell through at a late stage.
“Due to the timing and lack of available funding there was no alternative other than to cease trading and dismiss the workforce.
“Our immediate priority now is to ensure clients and creditors are kept informed and to support employees through the process of making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.”
Two law firms – Lancashire firm Pearson Solicitors & Financial Advisers and Manchester-based PA Claims UK (a trading name of Treadwell Law) – are advertising to help BLB staff seek protective awards, available when an employer fails in its legal duty to consult employee representatives before making large-scale redundancies.