November 18, 2024
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Gilson Gray have moved swiftly to appoint a liquidator to oversee the closure of the company in charge of the Champion of Tennis event, which was forced to be cancelled at the last minute.
Eileen Blackburn, partner and head of business recovery at leading mid-tier accountancy firm French Duncan, has been appointed provisionally with the process being accelerated thanks to insolvency experts at the new legal firm.
The event, sponsored by Scottish law firm Brodies and featuring tennis greats such as John McEnroe and Tim Henman, was scheduled to run from 19th-22nd June, but was cancelled at the last minute due to problems in the construction of a complex redesigned roof at the venue.
The company set up to manage the event, Serve and Volley Ltd, has now entered provisional liquidation and their assets will be sold off to pay back creditors.
Gilson Gray became the biggest full-service legal firm to open in Scotland in more than 100 years when it launched earlier this year, poaching some of the sharpest market experts from across the country.
Steven Jansch, an insolvency expert with the firm who has previously worked on insolvency cases involving Rangers FC, Beanscene, and JJB Sports, says their appointment as legal advisers on the high profile liquidation demonstrates the level of the market Gilson Gray have immediately entered.
He said: “The high profile nature of the event and the late hour in which it was cancelled has resulted in a great deal of interest from the media as well as ticket holders and tennis fans.
“This meant it was extremely important to appoint a liquidator as quickly and smoothly as possible, which we were asked to do on behalf of Serve and Volley Ltd, and it the necessary legal work was carried out in a matter of days.
“The liquidator is now dealing with the practical challenges and is working to identify any assets which will be available to realise for the benefit of the company in liquidation.
He added: “Being able to attract this level of business at such an early stage in the firm’s life, demonstrates the demand in the market for our flexible modern approach.”
As Serve and Volley Ltd was set up to manage the specific event, only one role is expected to be directly affected by the liquidation.
The first Champions of Tennis event in 2013 was disrupted by wet weather and a more complex roof structure was expected to prevent the same issues this year, but the plans for the new roof fell through just days before the gates were due to open and tournament sponsors, Brodies, were forced to cancel.
Eileen Blackburn has vast experience in this area having worked with many distressed companies.
She said: “Liquidation of any firm is never easy and there’s a great deal of work that needs done, so it’s important to hit the ground running.
“The first step is the official appointment so having this dealt with so efficiently has been extremely helpful.”
Gilson Gray will continue to work alongside French Duncan as legal advisers on the liquidation.
Many of the Gilson Gray lawyers are dual qualified in both Scottish and English law and the firm is supported by a full complement of legal, property, financial and administrative staff.
The firm’s offices are at 29 Rutland Square, Edinburgh, and 160 West George Street, Glasgow
