There have been a number of postings recently on the forum from clients of Debtmatters who have had their cases transferred to Grant Thornton and Payplan. This results from a sale of the Debtmatters IVA portfolio, following a strategic review of that business carried out by its shareholders at the beginning of the year.
I have today discussed various issues with one of the senior partners at Grant Thornton, and now wish to provide further details of this acquisition which may be helfpul to any forum members who have been affected by the transfer.
Approximately 4,500 cases were purchased by Grant Thornton and a similar number by Payplan on 20 February 2008. There is no connection between Grant Thornton or Payplan, although teams from both companies are working together with the remaining Debtmatters staff to ensure a smooth transition.
Informatory welcoming letters have been sent to all clients by the respective purchasers to reassure their new clients of their best attentions and future strategy. Following a detailed due diligence exercise, both Grant Thornton and Payplan have decided to vary the terms of all arrangements to bring them in line with their own practice requirements and to address any anomalies or differences in standards.
This will involve the calling of creditors meetings in each individual case, which is deemed to be a major, but necessary, exercise. This is not likely to affect the level of payments or the duration of the IVA, unless the circumstances of the case would suggest such changes, but could affect the eventual dividend returnable, hence the need for creditor agreeement at an early stage.
I have been advised that the intention is to cause minimal interruption to existing payment arrangements with clients, and that it is hoped that clients who are currently in arrears with their contributions will be afforded some leeway in order to make these up - perhaps by a short extension of the terms. This exercise is being carried out with the best intentions of former Debtmatters clients, and gives a vital second chance for cases which might otherwise have been failed under existing terms and conditions.
Given the size of the caseload, and the need to work as quickly and diligently as possible, it has initially been decided that this exercise should be carried out from one site - and Payplan's offices in Grantham were deemed to be the most suitable location. This is why the Grantham address is initially being used for all former Debtmatters clients transferred to Grant Thorton as a first point of reference, although there is a team of fully qualified and experienced personnel from Grant Thornton working on their share of the cases also out of Grantham. In time, the cases are to be transferred back to their main offices in Belfast, which are staffed by a complete team of appropriately qualified and experienced staff.
The Grant Thornton partners acknowledge that recent events have been unsettling for their new clients, and that there must be a lot of uncertainty as to their own intentions with regard to the future - particularly with regard to the proposed variation meetings. They wish to convey, through the medium of this forum, that they intend to look after each and every one of their new clients and very much welcome you all to their organisation. As I have frequently stated on this site, this firm are one of the best and most professional operators in the whole insolvency industry, and have the backing of a world leader in terms of accountancy and business consultancy services.
I have not been asked to speak specifically for Payplan, but as this firm are one of the longest and best established firms in this industry I am sure that they are also intending to operate with their new clients' best intentions at heart.
It is not unusual for IVA cases to be transferred from one firm to another, I have been involved personally in several transferred portfolios during my career, so there really is nothing to worry about. This forum is, as ever, open to deal with any queries clients may have who are affected by the Debtmatters sale, and I am able to raise general issues on behalf of forum members, however specific case related queries do need to be raised with the appropriate people on the number contained within the welcome letter.
I hope that this post is helpful, and may serve to supplement the information already provided directly by both Grant Thornton and Payplan.
Regards, Melanie Giles, Insolvency Practitioner