A group of four manufacturing companies presented a particularly complex case for our team.
The group was made up of a dormant company, a company registered in the Isle of Man, a trading company, and a holding company. The trading company had ceased to operate and there was no longer a requirement for any of the companies to remain active. The challenge was to extinguish the various entities and to release the cash in the most efficient manner.
In total, £7.83m was distributed from the holding company to individual shareholders after all the dividends had been distributed upstream through the group. All the creditors were paid and, after working closely with tax advisers, a Members’ Voluntary Liquidation was considered the most tax-efficient way of distributing the cash surplus back to the holding company’s shareholders.
Alphasteel is a major steel manufacturer based in South Wales. Following our appointment at the request of an overseas bank, we maintained the steelworks for 7 months until a sale of the business and assets was made to Russian based investors.
The deal was completed for a consideration of approximately £57m. This successful sale should secure the future of the plant and its workforce.