Dearman Engine Company enters administration
Client(s) Bouchier, Geoffrey and Wiles, Benjamin as Joint
Jones Day advised Geoffrey Bouchier and Benjamin Wiles of Duff & Phelps (the "Administrators") as joint administrators of Dearman Engine Company Limited (in administration) (the "Company") in an expedited and successful rescue of the Company’s business. Facing immediate cash-flow issues, the Administrators were appointed to the Company shortly before Christmas 2019. The Company had taken on significant debt in acquiring development funding, which funding was used to create complex intellectual property and research highly specialised cooling technologies with significant international roll-out potential. Due to the nature of the business, the number of possible ‘white knight’ rescuers was limited.
Upon their appointment, the Administrators encountered significant disputes between stakeholders holding a number of complex inter-connected debt and equity positions. Notwithstanding such disputes, and following intense negotiations under severe time pressure (due to the critical funding position and risk of the Company losing key employees), Jones Day and the Administrators successfully negotiated funding from certain stakeholders to provide a runway for a sale of the Company's business, concluded a sale of the business to enable the safeguarding of the majority of jobs associated with the Company and began a review into the disputes and allegations being made by various stakeholders into the conduct of the Company's business. This review remains ongoing.
