Comet Group liquidation claim

RNS Number : 7481C

Litigation Capital Management Ltd

23 June 2021

 

23 June 2021

Litigation Capital Management Limited

("LCM" or the "Company")

New Litigation Finance Agreement to fund Comet Group liquidation claim

Litigation Capital Management Limited (AIM:LIT), an alternative asset manager specialising in dispute financing solutions internationally, has entered into an agreement to provide a litigation finance facility to Geoffrey Carton-Kelly, a partner of FRP Advisory ("FRP"), additional liquidator of CGL Realisations Ltd (In Liquidation), which until 21 October 2019 was known as Comet Group Ltd ("Comet"). The litigation finance agreement will cover proceedings issued in the High Court against Darty Holdings SAS ("Darty") ("the Proceedings").  Mr Carton-Kelly was appointed as additional liquidator by the court to specifically investigate and pursue potential  claims.

At the time of its insolvency, Comet was the UK's second largest electrical retailer with 239 stores and 6,900 employees.

Darty is a subsidiary of FNAC Darty, a multinational electrical retailer based in France, and listed on the Paris Stock Exchange (under ticker FNAC.PA).

The additional liquidator alleges in the Proceedings that a transaction that occurred prior to Comet entering into administration had the effect of a preference in Darty's favour, thus reducing the amounts that would otherwise have been available for Comet's creditors.  The proceedings seek recovery of amounts exceeding £83m to be returned to Comet for distribution to creditors.

An important preliminary issue in this case is whether Comet was "connected" to Darty at the time of the alleged preference. This issue has been determined in favour of the additional liquidator at first instance and on appeal.

Patrick Moloney, CEO of LCM, commented: "LCM has been financing claims of this nature since its inception 23 years ago.  We are very comfortable funding into the insolvency and restructuring sector.  Over time, we expect to see increased applications from this part of the market."

Nick Rowles-Davies, Executive Vice Chairman of LCM, commented:  " With liquidations of this scale, LCM is leading the way as the funder of choice amongst leading insolvency practitioners such as FRP.  We are witnessing significant demand for disputes financing in insolvency matters and we expect this to continue as the awareness of its key benefits continue to be recognised."

Enquiries

Litigation Capital Management	c/o Alma PR
Patrick Moloney, Chief Executive Officer
Canaccord (Nomad and Joint Broker)	Tel: [phone]
Bobbie Hilliam
Investec Bank plc (Joint Broker)	Tel: [phone]
David Anderson
Alma PR	Tel: [phone]
Justine James	[e-mail]
Susie Hudson Kieran Breheny Molly Gretton

NOTES TO EDITORS

Litigation Capital Management (LCM) is a leading international provider of litigation financing solutions. This includes single-case and portfolios across; class actions, commercial claims, claims arising out of insolvency and international arbitration. LCM has an unparalleled track record, driven by effective project selection, active project management and robust risk management.

Headquartered in Sydney, with offices in London, Singapore, Brisbane and Melbourne, LCM listed on AIM in December 2018, trading under the ticker LIT.

www.lcmfinance.com

 

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