Latest news with #Azets
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Scottish charities to share $1m from Balmanno House sale
Nine charities across Scotland are set to benefit from a $1m (£750,000) surplus following the sale of Balmanno House, a registered charity in Glasgow's West End that provided residential care for over 200 years. These charities include Glasgow East End Community Carers, St Francis Care Home, Glasgow Children's Hospital, and The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice. Other charities such as CrossReach, Association for the Relief of Infirmity in the West of Scotland, Ayrshire Hospice, and Tenovus Scotland Strathclyde were also among the beneficiaries. The distribution follows the liquidation process managed by Blair Milne and James Fennessey, joint liquidators and partners at international business advisory group Azets. Balmanno House was placed into administration in April 2023. The joint administrators continued to operate the care home briefly to facilitate an orderly relocation of residents to alternative care facilities. Following significant interest, the property was sold to RSD Property Holdings for residential development for an undisclosed amount. The sale ensured that all creditors at the time of administration were paid in full, including statutory interest, redundancy pay, and other entitlements owed to the former workforce. The joint liquidators are now finalising arrangements to distribute the surplus funds to charitable causes in line with the wishes of Balmanno House's Trustees. Azets head of Restructuring and Insolvency in Scotland Blair Milne said: 'The challenges facing the care sector have been well documented in recent years, with many care homes caught in a perfect storm of rising labour and operational costs, insufficient public funding, workforce shortages and unstable occupancy levels, all whilst compliance requirements have intensified. Many are operating at very tight margins and unable to increase revenue to meet rising operating costs. Sadly, a number of care homes have had no option but to enter into an insolvency process due to an inability to meet the liabilities of the business.' 'The actions of the Trustees, particularly seeking early advice on cash flow management, helped to ensure an orderly winding down of the care home operation, an optimal outcome from sale of the Company's property asset and ultimately a substantial sum being distributed to charity at the end of the process,' he added. "Scottish charities to share $1m from Balmanno House sale" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Glasgow Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Glasgow Times
Balmanno House sale funds £1m boost for local charities
Balmanno House was a registered charity that provided residential care in the city's west end for more than 200 years. The home went into administration in April 2023, and efforts were made to ensure a smooth relocation of residents to other care facilities. Blair Milne (Image: Supplied) After receiving a considerable amount of interest, the property was sold to RSD Property Holdings Limited for residential development. The undisclosed sale amount ensured all creditors at the time of administration were paid in full, including statutory interest, redundancy pay, and other entitlements for former staff. Read more: Hamilton firm raises £7k at golf day for Scottish charities The insolvency process transitioned to a liquidation to wrap up the company's affairs and distribute funds to creditors. Blair Milne and James Fennessey, joint liquidators and partners with accountancy firm Azets, are overseeing the distribution of the surplus funds to various charities, in line with the wishes of the Balmanno House trustees. Mr Milne, head of restructuring and insolvency in Scotland at Azets, said: "It gives me great pleasure to see such a substantial sum being made available for distribution to charity. "It is very rare for all creditors to receive full repayment together with interest from any insolvency process, let alone such a substantial sum being made available to charities." Allan Carrick, speaking on behalf of the board of trustees, said: "The former trustees of Balmanno House are delighted with the outcome of the administration and subsequent liquidation and are very pleased that so many deserving charities of their choice will benefit from the distribution of the surplus funds." Mr Milne thanked the trustees for their role in the process. He said: "I would like to express my thanks to the board of trustees for their actions and their support prior to the administration appointment and throughout the insolvency process. "The actions of the trustees, particularly seeking early advice on cash flow management, helped to ensure an orderly winding down of the care home operation, an optimal outcome from sale of the company's property asset, and ultimately a substantial sum being distributed to charity at the end of the process." He acknowledged the challenges faced by the care sector in recent years, saying that many care homes had no choice but to enter insolvency due to rising costs, insufficient funding, staff shortages, and unstable occupancy levels. He said: "As can be seen from the outcome achieved with Balmanno House, taking early advice on restructuring and insolvency ensures that all options remain available, either to restructure and preserve the business or to maximise the value available to stakeholders from a sale of the company's assets." The charities benefiting from the funds include Glasgow East End Community Carers, able2sail, St Francis Care Home, CrossReach, Association for the Relief of Infirmity in the West of Scotland, Ayrshire Hospice, Tenovus Scotland Strathclyde, Glasgow Children's Hospital, and The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice.
The Herald Scotland
22-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Sale of Glasgow west end care home sale nets £1m for charity
It is one of a number of care homes across the country which have failed under pressure from cost inflation, staff shortages, and a lack of public funding. Balmanno House had 51 rooms, but occupancy levels were said to be consistently at or below 85% which contributed to operating losses. Administrators Blair Milne and James Fennessey at accountancy firm Azets traded Balmanno House, which was built in 1874, for a short period to ensure an orderly relocation of residents to alternative care. Major business survey reveals 'standout' view on 'Scottish visa' Scotch whisky chief pays price as global turmoil hits industry Why the case for a 'Scottish visa' just got stronger I love Scotland but returning from holiday made my heart sink Now, more than two years later and following 'considerable' interest in the property, the building has been sold for residential development for an undisclosed sum. A statement from Azets said the sale of the property to RSD Property Holdings has ensured that all creditors at the date of administration received payment in full, together with statutory interest, including payment of all redundancy pay and other entitlements due to the former workforce. The care home had around 68 employees. Mr Milne, head of restructuring and insolvency at Azets in Scotland, said: 'It gives me great pleasure to see such a substantial sum being made available for distribution to charity. It is very rare for all creditors to receive full repayment together with interest from any insolvency process, let alone such a substantial sum being made available to charities.' He added: 'I would like to express my thanks to the board of trustees for their actions and their support prior to the administration appointment and throughout the insolvency process. The actions of the trustees, particularly seeking early advice on cash flow management, helped to ensure an orderly winding down of the care home operation, an optimal outcome from sale of the company's property asset and ultimately a substantial sum being distributed to charity at the end of the process'. Speaking on behalf of the board of trustees, Allan Carrick, a former chairman of the care home, said: 'The former trustees of Balmanno House are delighted with the outcome of the administration and subsequent liquidation and are very pleased that so many deserving charities of their choice will benefit from the distribution of the surplus funds.' The insolvency process moved to a liquidation to allow the affairs of the company to be wound up and the funds distributed to creditors. A statement said the joint liquidators now plan to finalise matters and to distribute the surplus funds held in the liquidation for charitable purpose, in accordance with the wishes of the trustees of Balmanno House. The charities in line for a share of the windfall include Glasgow East End Community Carers; able2sail; St Francis Care Home; CrossReach; Association for the Relief of Infirmity in the West of Scotland; Ayrshire Hospice; Tenovus Scotland Strathclyde; Glasgow Children's Hospital; and The Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice. Mr Milne added: "The challenges facing the care sector have been well documented in recent years, with many care homes caught in a perfect storm of rising labour and operational costs, insufficient public funding, workforce shortages and unstable occupancy levels, all whilst compliance requirements have intensified. "Many are operating at very tight margins and unable to increase revenue to meet rising operating costs. Sadly, a number of care homes have had no option but to enter into an insolvency process due to an inability to meet the liabilities of the business. 'As can be seen from the outcome achieved with Balmanno House, taking early advice on restructuring and insolvency ensures that all options remain available, either to restructure and preserve the business or to maximise the value available to stakeholders from a sale of the company's assets'.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
UK's FRC probes Deloitte and Azets over fintech Stenn audits
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of the UK has initiated an investigation into the audit practices of Deloitte and Azets regarding their work with Stenn, a collapsed invoice-financing firm. Stenn entered administration in December 2024, following lender concerns over suspicious transactions. The focus of the probe is on the audits conducted between 2017 and 2023, a period during which Deloitte succeeded Azets as the auditor for the 2023 financial year. Deloitte, part of the Big Four, took over the auditing responsibilities from Azets, a top ten UK accounting firm, after the latter had stepped in post-EY's resignation in 2018. EY had expressed apprehensions about "certain related party transactions" and management's explanations, as detailed in a letter made public. The FRC's investigation encompasses audits of two Stenn entities: Stenn Assets UK and Stenn International. The regulator has the authority to levy fines and other penalties for non-compliance with auditing standards. Banks raised flags about Stenn following the unsealing of US criminal indictments in a money laundering case, which incidentally mentioned the company and its Russian founder and CEO, Greg Karpovsky. The indictments included allegations that Stenn Assets UK, now in administration, had received $1.7m from a company linked to a Russian individual convicted of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Previously valued at $900m and partnered with global banks like Citigroup and Barclays, Stenn's reputation was marred by Karpovsky's history with a Russian invoice finance company embroiled in fraud accusations. According to the Financial Times report, Karpovsky stated in December, asserting that any 'proved to have taken place long after my departure from the company'. The FRC is concurrently investigating three other audits by Deloitte, including their work with transport group Go-Ahead, clothing retailer Joules, and car dealership Lookers. Deloitte said: 'We will co-operate fully with the Financial Reporting Council's investigation. We remain committed to the highest standards of audit quality.' Azets said: 'We responded promptly to the FRC's request for information and are co-operating fully with its formal investigation,' reported Financial Times. "UK's FRC probes Deloitte and Azets over fintech Stenn audits" was originally created and published by International Accounting Bulletin, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Deloitte and Azets investigated over audits of collapsed UK fintech Stenn
Deloitte and Azets are under investigation for their audits of a lender that collapsed amid links to alleged Russian money laundering. The Financial Reporting Council said it was examining the two accounting firms' audits of Stenn Assets UK and Stenn International, part of a group that advanced cash to small and medium-sized businesses by buying their invoices. Once valued at close to $1 billion, Stenn was a financial start-up that had the backing of the American private equity group Centerbridge. • Business live: up-to-the-minute news and analysis from our live blog It entered insolvency in December last year after HSBC, its lender, grew concerned about suspicious transactions. Following its failure, accusations emerged that some of its purported business partners were not genuine. The audit regulator is examining audits by Azets, formerly known as Wilkins Kennedy, of Stenn for 2017, 2018 and 2022 and Deloitte's audits of Stenn's 2023 accounts. In 2018 EY resigned as auditors of Stenn International owing to 'concerns regarding certain related party transactions' and the 'sufficiency of explanations provided to us … by the management of the company'. Although styled as a financial technology business Stenn, based in London, was in the traditional market of invoice finance: advancing money to businesses that supplied goods to larger companies by acquiring their invoices at a discount. The company collapsed after HSBC held an investigation when the bank learnt of a brief mention of the business in a criminal indictment in the US related to alleged Russian money laundering. The bank questioned whether Stenn's business model was legitimate, Mr Justice Adam Johnson said, when he ordered Stenn International and Stenn Assets UK be put into administration. Bloomberg has reported that several of Stenn's largest 'counterparties', the companies settling the invoices, have denied ever having a relationship with Stenn. Silverbird, a digital payments company where Stenn's Russian founder Greg Karpovsky was a director, went bust in March 2024 after its management team discovered that payments made in 2022 and 2023 may have breached sanctions. Stenn and Karpovsky were not accused of any wrongdoing in the US criminal case, in which they were not the defendants. Karpovsky has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Stenn. A Deloitte spokeswoman said: 'We will co-operate fully with the Financial Reporting Council's investigation. We remain committed to the highest standards of audit quality.' A spokesman for Azets said: 'We responded promptly to the FRC's request for information and are co-operating fully with its formal investigation.' Stenn's failure has echoes of the scandal at Greensill, the financial company that the former prime minister Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton worked for, and has caused fresh concerns about the invoice finance market. M&G Investments, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Natixis, part of the French banking giant BPCE, are among institutions that have worked with Stenn. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by these groups. Insolvency practitioners from Interpath have said they are looking into various matters at Stenn Assets UK and Stenn International, including the structure of the business, 'the appropriate treatment' of financial assets and the 'provenance and allocation' of tens of millions of dollars in company accounts The FRC said it had made the decision to open an investigation in May.
