Bordeaux Services (Guernsey) Limited (“Bordeaux”)

Issue:

Bordeaux was a Guernsey fund administrator which was regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (“GFSC”) in accordance with the Protection of Investors Law and the Fiduciary Law.  After an investigation into the conduct of Bordeaux’s directors, the GFSC handed down an order prohibiting them from acting as directors.  They were banned from holding office as directors, which placed Bordeaux in a position where it had no directors able to act with regard to its clients’ affairs.

Resolution:

We reviewed the position with regards the business and its 30+ underlying clients. The book of business was in the process of being sold to a third party. We worked with the parties to complete due diligence and execute documents to finalise the transfers. For those clients not acquired, we identified administrators willing to onboard those clients. In some cases we couldn’t find a new administrator, so we worked with the client to assist in winding up the affairs and address any potential liabilities and distribute surplus assets to members. The appointment also resulted in acting as co-trustee with the Public Trustee for a number of clients, which required the identification of strategies to exit the relationship, or to execute documents to appoint new trustees.

Value Added:

We were able to step into the shoes of the directors, address transfers of client business in progress, find new administrators or in some cases, wind up the company so that liabilities were addressed and any surplus paid to shareholders.  Our appointment enabled us to deal with the issues Bordeaux faced, providing the Regulator with comfort that the affairs of the company were closed out properly.