Judge cuts Quinn €2.75m administration bill by 20%

MARY CAROLAN

THE PRESIDENT of the High Court has cut by 20 per cent a fee bill of €2.75 million sought by the joint administrators of Quinn Insurance relating to the costs of administration of the company.
Michael McAteer and Paul McCann of accountancy firm Grant Thornton were appointed joint administrators by the Financial Regulator in April 2010.
They sought court approval for payment of about €2.75 million, plus expenses, for costs incurred in the administration of the company between August 1st and November 30th last.
The fees sought by the administrators themselves for their own work were on the basis of €475 an hour.
Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns said he would approve the fees sought, less a 20 per cent reduction.
The judge also approved an additional application by the administrators for what were previously described as “substantial” fees for costs related to the sale of QIL, including fees charged by Macquarie Capital Europe.
The latter’s fees were not disclosed on the grounds they were commercially sensitive.
The merchant banking firm was hired in June 2010 by the joint administrators to help sell QIL, sold last year to the Liberty Mutual-Anglo Irish Bank joint venture.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Kearns said he was imposing the 20 per cent reduction for reasons including the fact the “difficult and completely unprecedented” situation that existed at QIL when the joint administrators were appointed no longer prevailed.
The fees charged by the administrators for the August to November 2011 period were based on rates previously approved by the High Court, he noted.
A lot of the work of the administrators had now become routine and the sale of the company to the joint venture had significantly reduced the burden on the administrators.
He also found there was repetition in relation to some of the work carried out by the administrators and Macquarie.
Mr Justice Kearns said he was taking into account other factors, including the sharp downturn in Ireland’s economic situation since the joint administrator’s appointment and the fact that, in cases before the Commercial Court, other judges had cut administrative fees sought by professionals.
The judge said he was satisfied to approve the fees sought by Macquarie after a peer review requested by him indicated they were proper and fair.
An independent review conducted by a British solicitor, Kenneth Baird, with experience in insolvency and company restructuring, said the fees charged by Macquarie for the work carried out concerning the sale of QIL “appeared to be reasonable”.
Mr Baird said the fees accorded with his own “professional expectation of the range of fees involved in a similar engagement”.
Mr Justice Kearns also said he would approve the legal fees incurred by the administrators from August to November.