Lehman Brothers Europe Limited (in administration)

This site provides information regarding the progress of the administration of Lehman Brothers Europe Limited (“LBEL” or the “Company”) and will be updated as and when new information becomes available.

DY Schwarzmann, EJ Macnamara, GE Bruce and R Downs were appointed as Joint Administrators (the "Administrators") of LBEL to manage its affairs, business and property as agents without personal liability. DY Schwarzmann, EJ Macnamara, GE Bruce and R Downs are licensed in the United Kingdom to act as insolvency practitioners by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

DY Schwarzmann, EJ Macnamara, GE Bruce and R Downs may act as Data Controllers of personal data as defined by UK data protection law depending upon the specific processing activities undertaken. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP may act as a processor on the instructions of DY Schwarzmann, EJ Macnamara, GE Bruce and R Downs. Personal data will be kept secure and processed only for matters relating to the Administrators’ appointment. Further details are available in the privacy statement on the PwC.co.uk website or by contacting the Administrators.

Following applications to the High Court of Justice (the “Court”), Orders were granted permitting the Joint Administrators to make distributions to unsecured creditors of the Company, pursuant to Paragraph 65(3) of Schedule B1 of the Insolvency Act 1986.

The Administrators are bound by the Insolvency Code of Ethics which can be found here.

LBEL Claim Submission Information

LBEL became a distributing administration on 2nd July 2012, and LBEL now has a formal legal process for agreeing creditors’ claims. The Administrators have provided a LBEL Statement of Claim form which can be downloaded here, and we encourage all creditors to submit their claims at the earliest opportunity. The Administrators request that all claimants use this form for consistency, and all claims should be submitted with full supporting documentation. Please execute your Statement of Claim and upload as a PDF and email to the following address: uk_lbel_claims@pwc.com

Interim distributions

On 23 September 2014, the Joint Administrators paid a third interim dividend of 50 pence in the pound to all unsecured creditors whose claims had been admitted for dividend purposes. A copy of the declaration notice is available here. This brings the cumulative dividend to 100 pence in the pound.

Statutory interest distribution

Pursuant to Rule 14.29 of the Insolvency Rules 2016, on 8 August 2017 the Joint Administrators gave notice of their intention to declare a distribution in respect of statutory interest to the unsecured, non-preferential creditors of LBEL.

A copy of the notice can be found here.

Pursuant to Rule 14.35 of the Insolvency Rules 2016, on 6 September 2017 the Joint Administrators declared a distribution in respect of statutory interest to the unsecured, non-preferential creditors whose claims have been admitted for dividend purposes. Payment of the distribution was made on or around 6 September 2017.

A copy of the notice can be found here.

Application to Court

We refer to Section 3 of the Joint Administrators’ Seventeenth Progress Report, as well as previous Progress Reports, which described the Waterfall III proceedings that LBEL has been participating in for the purpose of resolving its intercompany position with Lehman Brothers Limited (“LBL”). The other parties to the Waterfall III proceedings (aside from LBEL and LBL) are Lehman Brothers International Europe (“LBIE”), Lehman Brothers Holdings plc (“LBH”) and LB Holdings Intermediate 2 Limited.

On 29 March 2017, the Joint Administrators of LBIE announced that progress had been made concerning the commercial terms upon which the Waterfall III proceedings might be settled. The announcement (which is available here) stated that, as part of the proposed consensual resolution, arrangements involving various of the other UK domiciled Lehman affiliates would be entered into, in order to allow for timely distributions from the administrations of certain of those affiliates.

On 12 July 2017, the Joint Administrators of LBIE announced that agreement in principle had been reached on the commercial terms of revised settlement arrangements (that announcement is available here).

The Joint Administrators of LBEL previously announced that they anticipated that, on completion of the settlement, LBEL would be in a position to make certain distributions to its creditors, with a surplus then being immediately available to be distributed to LBEL’s sole shareholder, LBH.

An administrator does not have the power under the Insolvency Act 1986 to make distributions to shareholders. Accordingly, the Joint Administrators of LBEL previously announced that they intended to apply to the Court for directions as to how any distribution to LBH might be effected. Such an application was issued on 16 May 2017.

On 1 August 2017, Mr Justice Hildyard issued directions permitting the Joint Administrators, as part of the proposed settlement arrangements, to appoint a director whilst LBEL remains in administration and to sanction the declaration by that director of a shareholder’s dividend.

The Joint Administrators are pleased to announce that the settlement documents have since been finalised and executed and became effective on 6 September 2017. The Joint Administrators of LBIE have filed at Court a Consent Order providing for the Waterfall III applications to be dismissed.

Further, a director was also appointed to LBEL (whilst it remains in administration) and a distribution to LBEL’s sole shareholder, LBH, has been made following the distribution of statutory interest to its creditors.

Former administrators’ application to court

Following receipt of final clearance from HMRC in respect of the corporation tax affairs of the Company, the LBEL liquidators propose shortly to pay a final dividend to LBEL’s shareholder, following which they will take steps to bring the liquidation to a conclusion and to dissolve LBEL.

In their capacity as the former administrators of LBEL, the individuals who are the liquidators of LBEL (the “Former Administrators”) intend shortly to apply to the court for their discharge from liability in respect of any action of theirs as administrators, pursuant to paragraph 98 of Schedule B1 to the Insolvency Act 1986.

It is the Former Administrators’ intention to propose that the court determine that application without the need for a hearing. If any person wishes to raise any objection to the proposed application or otherwise to participate, they should accordingly let the Former Administrators know by sending an email to Nigel Rackham as soon as possible and in any event by 14 April 2020. The Former Administrators will not issue the proposed application before that date.

The evidence to be filed in support of the proposed application will be made available here as soon as it has been finalised. In the event that (notwithstanding the Former Administrators’ intended request that it be determined without a hearing) the application is in due course listed for a hearing, details of the time and place of the hearing will be made available here as soon as they are known.

Witness statement of Edward John Macnamara dated 30 March 2020

Court Order discharging the liabilities of the Former Administrators dated 29 May 2020

Administrators’ Progress Reports

Creditors are updated on the progress of the administration of LBEL through the Joint Administrators’ six monthly progress reports and via this website. We encourage counter parties who believe they may be entitled to claim against LBEL to continue to check this website for relevant information.

Pursuant to Rule 18.6 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016, the Administrators' progress reports issued to date have been sent to all known creditors. Each report provides an account of the steps that have been taken in the administration of LBEL over a six month period. To view the past reports please click on the applicable link below:

Progress reports 2008-2015

Contacts

All queries to the Administrators of LBEL should be sent to: uk_lbel_claims@pwc.com