Reply to: Has Futuro Gone Bust?

[WindyAnna]

Futuro now in Liquidation

They've paid off the finance company (GE), they will pay the administrators, they should be able to pay the preferential creditors (the employees redundancy which comes from the state anyway!) and then "it is uncertain whether there will be sufficient realisations to enable a distribution to the non-preferential creditors of the company". since one of the non-pref creditors is HMRC (£312,671) it is likely that if tehre is owt to be had they will be the ones to have it!

I never expected to see any of this money (and if any of it does become available, in my case it will go to the Prosperity4 administrators - LOL) but the whole document just makes depressing reading except for this bit which really made me chortle ..

"There remains a significant number of outstanding timesheets which the Joint Administrators have to date not received from the contractors despite repeated chasing . The Joint Liquidators propose to continue to pursue this matter in the Compulsory Liquidation"

Oooh you naughty contractors - not submitting timesheets for money you will never see .... !!

Windy

[ITContractor]

Last time there was a problem with an agency going under some contractors phoned up the Administrator and bought out their contracts dirt cheap from them and then got the agency cut as well.

[tim123]

I reckon it will be speed rather than value, most of the big sites have already moved their contracts to another agency so unless they do it quick there will be none to sell!

Yep, that is the point. If they were buildings, selling then one by one nets the best return.

But these are time limited contracts. Selling individually takes a lot of time and each day less on the contract makes it worth less money. The best return is going to be achieved by selling them in large bundles very quickly

tim

[WindyAnna]

I reckon it will be speed rather than value, most of the big sites have already moved their contracts to another agency so unless they do it quick there will be none to sell! Depends whether the administrators have the sense to see that, their loyalty is to the factoring company who brought them in tho' so anything is possible.

If they do sell them back to the Directors then I reckon any client with any sense will use whatever clause they can to terminate immediately before the same thing happens again!

Cheers

Wind

[BrilloPad]

They will sell them in whatever way generates the most income.

This is unlikely to be one at a time

tim

really? - they will get enough to cover their fees and do it asap to get their hands on it. This will be called "the need to stop the assets(i.e. contractors) walking"

[tim123]

Will menzies sell the assets (contracts) piecemeal or only in one big bundle?

I fancy being a part-time pimp!

They will sell them in whatever way generates the most income.

This is unlikely to be one at a time

tim

[freakydancer]

Will menzies sell the assets (contracts) piecemeal or only in one big bundle?

Menzies sell assets? I thought they sold magazines and stationary? Ok, they haven't quite got the power of the mighty WH Smith but they certainly hold their own.

Put it this way...they tulip over my newsagent.

[bobhope]

Will menzies sell the assets (contracts) piecemeal or only in one big bundle?

I fancy being a part-time pimp!

[BlasterBates]

I would just point out that top of the list of the creditors will be the Administrator, closely followed by the Inland Revenue, and then of course the bank.

There isn't usually much left over but what there is will probably go to the directors. After all they'll have been hit hard, poor souls.


I'm afraid the contractors are down there near the bottom of the list with the office furniture whoelsalers.

[ITContractor]

It looks like they have definitely gone under.

One of our readers went to the office in Sevenoaks and found it empty except for the 'receiver'.

One would hope this time that the receiver or administrator will sell the contract assets off at a fair price rather than selling them dirt cheap to the directors as has happened before when contractors were left with virtually nothing.

[WindyAnna]

Believe there are some other agencies talking to the administrators. No idea what the outcome will be. I suppose it depends on how many clients are moving their contractors elsewhere and how bad a state the company is actually in.

Happy Friday

Wind

[ITContractor]

Good advice Not So Wise.

One thing I will say is that the agency does have substantial assets - all the contracts of its contractors.

The trouble is that 'friendly' administrators brought in by the dying companies often sell those dirt cheap back to the directors of the company who have by now formed another company.

If you can waylay that process and get an agency to bid for the assets there will be reasonable funds to pay contractors with.

However, normally the administrator is only interested in having enough assets to pay their fees.

If you wound up the company, or threatened to, you might get your money in full - or at least you may be able to put in a friendly adminstrator or liquidator who would dispose of the contract assets at a price nearer to the market value allowing them to offer contractors more than the 3p in the pound offered to the Chamberlain Scott contractors.

[Goonerak]

Thanks for the info NotSoWise

My understanding is that most of Futuro's money is tied up with a factorig company. The good news here is that at least Futuro can't dip into it.

There are only a few of us with Futuro where I work. We have been told to sever the contract by e-mailing Futuro and signing up with another agency on the PSL.

The client has agreed to pay us last week with the new agency paying us from Monday 26 February onwards.

Looks like the family will have to go without a holiday this year...

...unless I can get out out of my contract and get this one

http://www.jobserve.com/WAD6E1093DCB2759F.job

[realityhack]

Last Friday the client had all the ex-Futuro contractors sign up with either of their remaining preferred suppliers, Parity or Computer People. Today the client is saying that that they would like to confirm that only Computer People is nominated for the purposes of their 'transition exercise', further instuctions to be supplied. AAtrrrrghh this has to be an episode of 'One Foot...'

Ach. I'd switch to CP only if I absolutely had to for the rest of the contract - then get out of there the moment I could.

[Victor Meldrew]

I don't beleeeve it!

Last Friday the client had all the ex-Futuro contractors sign up with either of their remaining preferred suppliers, Parity or Computer People. Today the client is saying that that they would like to confirm that only Computer People is nominated for the purposes of their 'transition exercise', further instuctions to be supplied. AAtrrrrghh this has to be an episode of 'One Foot...'