Insider Media Limited have reported that LMS Holdings Limited part of the large conveyancing panel manager has been bought out of administration by Brabco 1019 Ltd which is understood to be a company owned and controlled by the majority of the LMS Management team.
“LMS” as many people knew the group has over the last 15 years become one of the largest conveyancing panel managers in the UK. Particularly known for its remortgage work with lenders LMS has won plaudits and detractors alike. Very few conveyancers are ambivalent about LMS; it’s a bit like marmite.
Zolfo Cooper the specialist business for “corporate advisory and restructuring services” appears to have provided a statement about a change of ownership of some of the business and administration of other parts of the LMS Group to Insider Media and some other journalists.
Insider Media have reported on Friday that:
“About 100 jobs have been secured at Ellesmere Port conveyancer LMS Holdings after the business was bought out of administration.
Zolfo Cooper’s Graham Wild, Simon Wilson and Stuart Mackellar were appointed joint administrators of LMS Holdings Limited (LMS) and subsidiary Energy Reports and Surveys Limited (ERS) on 18 January.
LMS provides outsourced services to the UK residential property market, including conveyancing, valuations and remortgages. The business was formerly owned by 3i Group before it sold its stake to the company’s management team in 2006, backed by RJD Partners.
At the time of the deal, LMS said it was well-positioned to take advantage of the previous Labour government’s introduction of Home Information Packs. However, HIPs were suspended by the coalition government in May 2010.
In a statement, Zolfo Cooper said LMS has experienced a “difficult trading environment which led to a financial restructuring”. Following our appointment, the in Legal Marketing Services Ltd and LMS Direct Conveyancing were sold to newly-created Brabco 1019 Ltd. The business and assets of ERS was sold to Brabco 1020 Ltd.
Wild, partner at Zolfo Cooper, said: “We are pleased to have been able to complete the financial restructuring of LMS and ERS in order to secure its future and all the employees working there.”
LMS Group Holdings, which is headquartered at Cheshire Oaks Business Park, reported sales of £54m in the year to 31 March 2009 and a pre-tax loss of £3m. Accounts for the year to 31 March 2010 have not yet been published at Companies House.”
There is also further information on The Business Desk (www.thebusinessdesk.com ) including an interview with Andy Knee the Managing Director. You are required to register for this story on their site and therefore if you are interested in it I would suggest you seek it there.
Readers should be aware that I was a director of LMS Group Holdings and a number of its subsidiaries until March 2010 having served 6 months notice. I am therefore in a difficult position where I feel that I must report on this story because many conveyancers will be interested in it however I also have a long involvement with the business in question which draws me into the story at the edges and undermines my independence.
Whilst competitors of LMS have asked me to comment on this story from my own knowledge I would prefer just to report what other journalists have said rather than go into the details that I am aware of personally..
I wish LMS all the best of luck in their future endeavours.
