Vantis
Encyclopedia
Vantis plc was an accountancy
firm based in London
, England
, providing accounting, tax and business advice to owner-managed businesses, listed companies, not for profit organisations, high net worth individual
s and other professionals. It was placed in administration on 29 June 2010 and promptly broken up, with the various offices and businesses being sold as going concerns.
(AIM) in May 2002.
In 2005 it took over struggling competitor Numerica, selling some of the offices to BDO Stoy Hayward.
Numerica was one of the first consolidators, led by former firm Levy Gee; at a time when audit work was restricted to partnership
s, it was the first publicly listed company to employ staff part-time who also did audit work for an associated partnership.
Numerica had been the UK member of the global accountancy network HLB International
since 2002, so Vantis succeeded as the UK member of the network.
As of 2010 Vantis was ranked the 13th largest accountancy firm in the UK by Accountancy Age
.
However, by February 2010 its work as liquidator of Stanford International Bank raised doubts as to whether it would receive payment for the high-profile appointment.
In June 2010, Vantis was reported to be considering disposals of part of its business to reduce its bank loans, although the company declined to confirm this. Paul Jackson then resigned as Chief Executive on 12 June, and on Monday 14 June Vantis' shares were suspended due to uncertainty over its financial position.
Vantis entered administration on 29 June 2010, and on the same day substantially all of its businesses were sold by the administrators, FTI Consulting. Most of the business recovery arm was sold to its own management in a management buy-out for £11 million, resulting in the creation of a new business - FRP Advisory
LLP. Rival consolidator RSM Tenon
bought Vantis Financial Management, one business recovery office and three business advisory and tax offices for £4.46 million. The remaining business advisory and tax offices were sold separately to the local partners, and various small specialist businesses were also sold.
The administrators expect to pay general creditors 9p in the pound. HM Revenue and Customs stands to write off £10 million.
Beaconsfield
, Birmingham
, Darlington
, Epsom
, Hartlepool
, Hornchurch
, Jersey
, Leicester
, London
, Loughton
, Manchester
, Marlow
, Middlesbrough
, St Albans
, Sidcup
and Worthing
.
of Stanford International Bank
Limited and Stanford Trust Company Limited from 19 February 2009 and were made liquidators of Stanford International Bank on 15 April 2009.
In February 2010, Vantis' auditors Ernst & Young
expressed concern about whether Vantis would receive payment for its work on Stanford. Properties in Antigua
emerged as an important part of the company's assets, to be sold to enable payment of creditors and Vantis' own fees.
In June 2010, the High Court of Antigua resolved that Vantis should be removed from its responsibilities. The firm, which had recently received government approval to sell the property assets, appealed the decision.
After the breakup of Vantis, Hamilton-Smith and Wastell transferred to the buyout firm FRP Advisory
, and continued their legal fight to be reinstated as liquidators of Stanford.
Two creditors made a claim that they had been treated unfairly, and the High Court judge stated that there was a prima facie
case of professional misconduct which should be considered by the administrators' professional body.
by Vantis after HMRC charged them with offences relating to abuse of Gift Aid
tax relief. They denied the charges and commenced action against Vantis for wrongful dismissal
.
Accountancy
Accountancy is the process of communicating financial information about a business entity to users such as shareholders and managers. The communication is generally in the form of financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; the art lies in...
firm based in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, providing accounting, tax and business advice to owner-managed businesses, listed companies, not for profit organisations, high net worth individual
High net worth individual
A high-net-worth individual is a person with a high net worth. In the private banking business, these individuals typically are defined as having investable assets in excess of US$1 million. As explained below, the U.S...
s and other professionals. It was placed in administration on 29 June 2010 and promptly broken up, with the various offices and businesses being sold as going concerns.
History
Vantis was formed as a "consolidator", inviting existing small local accountancy partnerships to join it and become part of a national company. It was listed on the Alternative Investment MarketAlternative Investment Market
AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....
(AIM) in May 2002.
In 2005 it took over struggling competitor Numerica, selling some of the offices to BDO Stoy Hayward.
Numerica was one of the first consolidators, led by former firm Levy Gee; at a time when audit work was restricted to partnership
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
s, it was the first publicly listed company to employ staff part-time who also did audit work for an associated partnership.
Numerica had been the UK member of the global accountancy network HLB International
HLB International
HLB International is an international network of accountancy firms. it is ranked 12th largest accounting network, with total worldwide revenue around US $1.7 billion. HLB is represented in over 100 countries. Between them, member firms have 1,700 partners and 14,000 staff in 450 offices...
since 2002, so Vantis succeeded as the UK member of the network.
As of 2010 Vantis was ranked the 13th largest accountancy firm in the UK by Accountancy Age
Accountancy Age
Accountancy Age is a trade magazine for accountants and financial staff in the United Kingdom. After running from 1969 to 2011 with a circulation of over 60,000 in print, it changed with effect from May 2011 to an online-only publication.-History:...
.
However, by February 2010 its work as liquidator of Stanford International Bank raised doubts as to whether it would receive payment for the high-profile appointment.
In June 2010, Vantis was reported to be considering disposals of part of its business to reduce its bank loans, although the company declined to confirm this. Paul Jackson then resigned as Chief Executive on 12 June, and on Monday 14 June Vantis' shares were suspended due to uncertainty over its financial position.
Vantis entered administration on 29 June 2010, and on the same day substantially all of its businesses were sold by the administrators, FTI Consulting. Most of the business recovery arm was sold to its own management in a management buy-out for £11 million, resulting in the creation of a new business - FRP Advisory
FRP Advisory
FRP Advisory is one of the largest independent restructuring, business recovery and insolvency firms in the UK, providing solutions to the mid-market business and financial community.-Locations:...
LLP. Rival consolidator RSM Tenon
RSM Tenon
RSM Tenon is a professional service firm based in the United Kingdom, listed on the FTSE SmallCap Index. The company was formed from the merger of the Tenon Group with RSM Bentley Jennison in December 2009. The company offers risk management, tax, recovery, financial management and business...
bought Vantis Financial Management, one business recovery office and three business advisory and tax offices for £4.46 million. The remaining business advisory and tax offices were sold separately to the local partners, and various small specialist businesses were also sold.
The administrators expect to pay general creditors 9p in the pound. HM Revenue and Customs stands to write off £10 million.
Locations
The company had offices inBeaconsfield
Beaconsfield
Beaconsfield is a market town and civil parish operating as a town council within the South Bucks district in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies northwest of Charing Cross in Central London, and south-east of the county town of Aylesbury...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Darlington
Darlington
Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, part of the ceremonial county of County Durham, England. It lies on the small River Skerne, a tributary of the River Tees, not far from the main river. It is the main population centre in the borough, with a population of 97,838 as of 2001...
, Epsom
Epsom
Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England. Small parts of Epsom are in the Borough of Reigate and Banstead. The town is located south-south-west of Charing Cross, within the Greater London Urban Area. The town lies on the chalk downland of Epsom Downs.-History:Epsom lies...
, Hartlepool
Hartlepool
Hartlepool is a town and port in North East England.It was founded in the 7th century AD, around the Northumbrian monastery of Hartlepool Abbey. The village grew during the Middle Ages and developed a harbour which served as the official port of the County Palatine of Durham. A railway link from...
, Hornchurch
Hornchurch
Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
, Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Loughton
Loughton
Loughton is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest district of Essex. It is located between 11 and 13 miles north east of Charing Cross in London, south of the M25 and west of the M11 motorway and has boundaries with Chingford, Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill...
, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Marlow
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Marlow is a town and civil parish within Wycombe district in south Buckinghamshire, England...
, Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough is a large town situated on the south bank of the River Tees in north east England, that sits within the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire...
, St Albans
St Albans
St Albans is a city in southern Hertfordshire, England, around north of central London, which forms the main urban area of the City and District of St Albans. It is a historic market town, and is now a sought-after dormitory town within the London commuter belt...
, Sidcup
Sidcup
Sidcup is a district in South East London in the London Borough of Bexley and small parts of the district in the London Borough of Greenwich.Located south east of Charing Cross, Sidcup is bordered by the London Boroughs of Greenwich and Bromley and Kent County Council, and whilst now part of...
and Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
.
Stanford International Bank
Vantis executives Nigel Hamilton-Smith and Peter Wastell acted as the joint receiversReceivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
of Stanford International Bank
Stanford International Bank
Stanford International Bank was a bank based in the Caribbean, which operated from 1986 to 2009. It was an affiliate of the Stanford Financial Group.- Operations :...
Limited and Stanford Trust Company Limited from 19 February 2009 and were made liquidators of Stanford International Bank on 15 April 2009.
In February 2010, Vantis' auditors Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the "Big Four" accountancy firms, along with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers ....
expressed concern about whether Vantis would receive payment for its work on Stanford. Properties in Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
emerged as an important part of the company's assets, to be sold to enable payment of creditors and Vantis' own fees.
In June 2010, the High Court of Antigua resolved that Vantis should be removed from its responsibilities. The firm, which had recently received government approval to sell the property assets, appealed the decision.
After the breakup of Vantis, Hamilton-Smith and Wastell transferred to the buyout firm FRP Advisory
FRP Advisory
FRP Advisory is one of the largest independent restructuring, business recovery and insolvency firms in the UK, providing solutions to the mid-market business and financial community.-Locations:...
, and continued their legal fight to be reinstated as liquidators of Stanford.
Sixty UK Limited
Vantis were the administrators of the company that owns the Energie and Miss Sixty fashion brands. The company returned to normal operations.Two creditors made a claim that they had been treated unfairly, and the High Court judge stated that there was a prima facie
Prima facie
Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning on its first encounter, first blush, or at first sight. The literal translation would be "at first face", from the feminine form of primus and facies , both in the ablative case. It is used in modern legal English to signify that on first examination, a...
case of professional misconduct which should be considered by the administrators' professional body.
Portsmouth Football Club
Vantis was appointed in February 2010 by the owners and the board of Portsmouth Football Club to prepare a statement of financial affairs, detailing the assets and liabilities of the club.Allegation of tax evasion
In October 2009, Roy Faichney and David Perrin were suspended and later dismissedFiring
Dismissal is the termination of employment by an employer against the will of the employee. Though such a decision can be made by an employer for a variety of reasons, ranging from an economic downturn to performance-related problems on the part of the employee, being fired has a strong stigma in...
by Vantis after HMRC charged them with offences relating to abuse of Gift Aid
Gift Aid
Gift Aid is a UK tax incentive that enables tax-effective giving by individuals to charities in the United Kingdom. Gift Aid was originally introduced in Finance Act 1990 for donation from 1 October 1990, but was originally limited to cash gifts of £600 or more...
tax relief. They denied the charges and commenced action against Vantis for wrongful dismissal
Wrongful dismissal
Wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is an idiom and legal phrase, describing a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer in circumstances where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contract of...
.
External links
- Vantis plc - New contact details for each office
- HLB Vantis Audit