Leonard Curtis
Encyclopedia
Leonard Curtis is one of the largest independent firms in the UK
specialising in corporate recovery
, insolvency
and business restructuring
.
It is a national practice with 14 directors and more than 100 staff based at offices in Manchester
, Bury
, Blackburn, Wolverhampton
, Birmingham
, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and London
.
In 1997 the firm considered and rejected a merger with Levy Gee, a general accountancy firm that went on to form Numerica. Leonard Curtis partners stated that they preferred to remain a specialist firm.
In 1998, two offices in Manchester and Liverpool with 30 staff left the firm for BDO Stoy Hayward.
Later in 1998, Leonard Curtis formed a joint venture, Fisher Curtis, with the insolvency arm of H. W. Fisher. The arrangement lasted only two years before the firms separated again.
The firm was awarded Business Recovery Specialist of the Year at the 2010 Business Moneyfacts
Awards. The judging panel said: "By providing companies with positive strategic advice, Leonard Curtis has enabled many of them to retain control of their business. The Corporate Strategies team continues to focus on the critical issues, providing clear recommendations together with restructuring and refinancing services to both growing and underperforming businesses."
's investigative documentary Dispatches
, made allegations of sharp practice in the insolvency profession. Keith Goodman, then a partner in Leonard Curtis (later both Senior Partner of the firm and President of the IPA
), claimed that a case of his was presented in a biased way, and sought an apology. However, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission rejected his complaint, saying that his case was sufficiently well set apart from other more serious allegations in the programme.
as receivers to the Manchester-based Kumar brothers, selling their holdings including Birmingham City F.C..
Other past clients include lobbyist Ian Greer, Metrocab
, the Hastings Pier
Company, Poole Pottery
and Evesham Technology
.
in 2009, protecting customer orders but with significant job losses.
Later that year, the firm saved two thirds of the business of fashion retailer MK One
by a sale to Internacionale Retail.
The firm was appointed administrator of Stockport County F.C.
in 2009. It took a long time
to find a buyer for the club, leading to criticisms from its fans.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
specialising in corporate recovery
Corporate recovery
Corporate recovery is the term given to the rescues undertaken by professional accountants, who are professionally trained, to assist the management of companies in nursing a company in financial and other difficulty back to health....
, insolvency
Insolvency
Insolvency means the inability to pay one's debts as they fall due. Usually used to refer to a business, insolvency refers to the inability of a company to pay off its debts.Business insolvency is defined in two different ways:...
and business restructuring
Restructuring
Restructuring is the corporate management term for the act of reorganizing the legal, ownership, operational, or other structures of a company for the purpose of making it more profitable, or better organized for its present needs...
.
It is a national practice with 14 directors and more than 100 staff based at offices in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
, Blackburn, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
History
The firm was founded by Leonard Curtis, who retired in 1983.In 1997 the firm considered and rejected a merger with Levy Gee, a general accountancy firm that went on to form Numerica. Leonard Curtis partners stated that they preferred to remain a specialist firm.
In 1998, two offices in Manchester and Liverpool with 30 staff left the firm for BDO Stoy Hayward.
Later in 1998, Leonard Curtis formed a joint venture, Fisher Curtis, with the insolvency arm of H. W. Fisher. The arrangement lasted only two years before the firms separated again.
Awards
Leonard Curtis won the mid-sized firm prize as Corporate Recovery Firm of the Year at the inaugural Insolvency and Rescue Awards 2008, run by Credit Today magazine.The firm was awarded Business Recovery Specialist of the Year at the 2010 Business Moneyfacts
Moneyfacts
Moneyfacts Group PLC is a financial information company founded in 1988 based in Norwich in the United Kingdom employing over 100 people.- History :...
Awards. The judging panel said: "By providing companies with positive strategic advice, Leonard Curtis has enabled many of them to retain control of their business. The Corporate Strategies team continues to focus on the critical issues, providing clear recommendations together with restructuring and refinancing services to both growing and underperforming businesses."
Controversy
"The Liquidation Game", a 1996 edition of Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's investigative documentary Dispatches
Dispatches (TV series)
Dispatches is the British television current affairs documentary series on Channel 4, first transmitted in 1987. The programme covers issues about British society, politics, health, religion, international current affairs and the environment, usually featuring a mole in an organisation.-Awards:*...
, made allegations of sharp practice in the insolvency profession. Keith Goodman, then a partner in Leonard Curtis (later both Senior Partner of the firm and President of the IPA
Insolvency Practitioners Association
The Insolvency Practitioners Association is a professional body whose purpose is to inform and regulate insolvency practitioners within the UK and Ireland. There is a similar organization in Australia.-History:...
), claimed that a case of his was presented in a biased way, and sought an apology. However, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission rejected his complaint, saying that his case was sufficiently well set apart from other more serious allegations in the programme.
Notable clients
In 1993, the firm was appointed by the liquidators of BCCIBank of Credit and Commerce International
The Bank of Credit and Commerce International was a major international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier. The Bank was registered in Luxembourg with head offices in Karachi and London. Within a decade BCCI touched its peak...
as receivers to the Manchester-based Kumar brothers, selling their holdings including Birmingham City F.C..
Other past clients include lobbyist Ian Greer, Metrocab
Metrocab
Metrocab was a British manufacturer of taxicabs latterly based in Tamworth in operation under various owners from 1989 to 2006.-MCW:The company was created by Metro Cammell Weymann as a taxicab manufacturing enterprise producing the MCW Metrocab....
, the Hastings Pier
Hastings Pier
Hastings Pier was a pleasure pier in Hastings, East Sussex, England. Built in 1872 and enjoying its prime in the 1930s, though becoming a popular music venue in the 1960s, it received major storm damage in 1990, closed to the public between 1999 and 2002, then closed again from 2006. Efforts...
Company, Poole Pottery
Poole Pottery
Poole Pottery is a pottery manufacturer, originally based in Poole, Dorset, England. The company was founded in 1873 on Poole quayside, where it continued to produce pottery by hand before moving its factory operations away from the quay in 1999. Production continued at the new site in Sopers Lane...
and Evesham Technology
Evesham Technology
Evesham Technology was a computer manufacturing and retail company based in Evesham, Worcestershire, England. It began operations in 1983 and closed in 2008 following financial difficulties. It was a significant contributor to the United Kingdom's domestic computer and digital television market...
.
Recent clients
Leonard Curtis sold Sofa WorkshopSofa Workshop
The Sofa Workshop Ltd are a furniture manufacturer and retailer formerly based in Lodsworth, West Sussex, United Kingdom, now at Farnborough, Hampshire. They are best known for creating stylish retro furniture and offering an unprecedented level of fabric customisation. - History :Sofa Workshop,...
in 2009, protecting customer orders but with significant job losses.
Later that year, the firm saved two thirds of the business of fashion retailer MK One
MK One
- Beginnings as Mark One :The company was founded by in the 1980s by Mark Brafman, Les Lucy and Alan Simons as Mark One, and became a discount womenswear retailer. In February 1996 Mark One was bought from administration by billionaire Philip Green, owner of BHS. Shami Ahmed had also made a failed...
by a sale to Internacionale Retail.
The firm was appointed administrator of Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County F.C.
Stockport County Football Club is an English football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The club formed in 1883 as Heaton Norris Rovers, shortly afterwards merging with Heaton Norris F.C., and adopted the current name on 24 May 1890 on the creation of the County Borough of Stockport...
in 2009. It took a long time
History of Stockport County F.C.
This article is about the history of Stockport County F.C., who are a football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England.-Early days:...
to find a buyer for the club, leading to criticisms from its fans.