De Dietrich Kitchen Appliances Limited ("the Company")

Transcription

1 De Dietrich Kitchen Appliances Limited ("the Company") Background The Company is a subsidiary of a large European group the majority of which are in insolvency procedures in their own countries. This has led to the cessation of trade of this company as the Company cannot obtain product or meet its ongoing financial obligations. Creditors meeting details The Company is insolvent and is going into liquidation. The meetings of member's and creditors' meetings are being held on 11 August 2014 at 10am at James Cowper LLP's office in London, 1 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1BR. Who is a creditor You have received notice of this meeting if: - You supplied products or services to the company and have not been paid - You resold products of the Company. The products' brand names were De Dietrich or Fagor. If a product has failed and a customer has returned the product to you in the relevant time period for a refund / repair then you may have a claim on the Company as it will not be able to provide you with a refund. Based on current information stock that you may hold will no longer be supported by the Company or others. - You are a customer in a warranty period and you have a warranty claim in relation to a De Dietrich or Fagor appliance. For the avoidance of doubt, the warranty is not backed by an insurance policy. There had previously been a service contract (underwritten by an insurer) in place regarding the Company's warranties, however, this arrangement ended in November The Company's management attempted to obtain new insurance cover, however, after a potential deal collapsed in May 2014, no insurance could be obtained and the warranty book liability was transferred back to the Company. Prospects for creditors The company has ceased to trade and can no longer supply products, repair / service products or honour warranty claims. It is likely that creditors with valid claims will receive a percentage of their claim via the liquidator in due course although it is not possible to indicate at present the level or timing of this distribution. Attending the creditors' meeting If you have a valid claim against the Company then you may attend the creditors' meeting but there is no requirement on you to do so and by not attending it will not affect your claim. Following the meeting you will receive a report of the meeting and the documents supplied to the meeting. If you are attending the creditors' meeting as an individual we should be grateful if you would let us know and complete a proof of debt form.

2 If you represent a company that is owed money or you are an individual that would like someone to attend the meeting on your behalf then you will need to complete a proxy form nominating your proxy holder (this can be the chairman if you do not know anyone attending) and complete a proof of debt form. At the meeting a number of resolutions will be considered and main ones include: whether creditors approve the member's choice of liquidator or would prefer an alternative liquidator whether creditors would like to form a liquidation committee the basis on which the liquidator will be paid and approval that he may draw disbursements the option to be able to compromise debts with creditors The meeting of creditors will also receive details of why the Company has failed, the financial state of the Company, and the likely outcome for creditors. Creditors will be given the opportunity to ask any questions that they may have of the directors including any concerns that they may have about the directors' conduct. If you have any concerns about the directors' conduct and you are not able to attend the meeting to put those claims to the directors then you should contact the liquidator when appointed to detail those concerns. The liquidators will be writing to creditors asking them to provide this information in due course. Prior to the meeting, on the 7 and 8 August 2014, you may obtain a list of names and addresses of the Company's creditors by attending our offices at Fetter Lane or requesting this information. How to complete the forms for individuals - warranty customers Proof of debt form: this is needed to support your vote at the meeting and as such should be returned to us prior to the meeting. This form will also be used by the liquidator to assess your claim. You should complete boxes 1-7 where applicable and sign in box 8 writing your name in block capitals below. In quantifying the claim that you may have against the Company you should estimate the loss that you have suffered. If you need to get the product repaired and have to pay a third party for that repair you will be entitled to claim this amount. You should provide copies of the receipts for the work as and when you have them. If your product is beyond economical repair then you will be entitled to make a claim for a replacement appliance not including charges for delivery, installation or disposal of the old appliance. A party has expressed an interest in taking over the warranty provision of the De Dietrich brand but this has not yet been finalised. Up dates on this position will be posted on our website We are not aware of anyone that wishes to take on the Fagor brand. We cannot currently provide you with a list of repair agents however should this change, again details will be posted on our website. The proxy form: this is needed to enable you to vote at the creditors' meeting if you do not intend to attend the meeting in person. This form should be returned to my offices on or before 12 noon on Friday 8 August You should fill in your name as the creditor and your address and then nominate a proxy holder. If you are not certain who will be able to attend on your behalf then you may nominate more than one proxy holder. If you would like your vote to be counted but you are not aware of anyone attending the meeting then you may nominate the chairman of the meeting and direct him to vote in the way you want. You can indicate on the form whether you wish the proxy holder to have discretion in the way that they vote. The chairman of the meeting will be the director of the Company.

3 On the proxy form you may nominate who you would like to be the liquidator of the Company, this person must be a qualified insolvency practitioner that is willing to act in relation to the Company. The form should then be signed by you, dated and you should write your name in capitals below. For the avoidance of doubt there is no requirement to attend the meeting or submit a proxy form and it will not prejudice your claim. If you do not submit a proof of debt form or are unable to do so now you will be given another opportunity to do so prior to us paying a distribution but please be aware that claims made after we have paid a distribution may not be admitted. How to complete the forms for companies - resellers and others A Proof of debt form is needed to support your vote at the meeting and as such should be returned to us prior to the meeting. This form will also be used by the liquidator to assess your claim. You should complete boxes 1-7 and an authorised signatory should sign in box 8 and write their name in block capitals below giving their relationship to the creditor company in the box below e.g. director. The authorised signatory will be anyone with power to sign on behalf of the company for example a director of the company. In quantifying the claim that you may have against the Company you should estimate the loss that you have suffered. For example if you have unpaid invoices then these should be supplied to us. If you supplied a product to an end user and that product has failed, with the user requiring you to fix or replace the product, then you should prove for the cost that you have incurred as a result. A proxy form: this is needed to enable you to vote at the creditors' meeting even if you intend attending in person. This form should be returned to my offices on or before 12 noon on Friday 8 August You should fill in the company's name and address and then nominate a proxy holder. If you are not certain who will be able to attend on the company's behalf then you may nominate more than one proxy holder. If you would like your vote to be counted but you are not aware of anyone attending the meeting then you may nominate the chairman of the meeting and direct him to vote in the way the you want. You can indicate on the form whether you wish the proxy holder to have discretion in the way that they vote. The chairman of the meeting will be the director of the Company. On the proxy form you may nominate who you would like to be the liquidator of the Company, this person must be a qualified insolvency practitioner that is willing to act in relation to the Company. The form should then be signed by you, dated and you should write your name in capitals below and detail your relationship with the creditor company for example director. For the avoidance of doubt there is no requirement to attend the meeting or submit a proxy form and it will not prejudice your claim. If you do not submit a proof of debt form or are unable to do so now you will be given another opportunity to do so prior to us paying a distribution but please be aware that claims made after we have paid a distribution may not be admitted.

4 Frequently Asked Questions Question: De Dietrich Branded Products: Fagor Branded Products: 1. Will my warranty be honoured? It is anticipated that an We are not aware of anyone that announcement will be made wishes to take on the Fagor shortly in relation to a new commercial partner for the De Dietrich branded products. It is warranties and as such these will not be honoured. However, any up dates on this position will be expected that a new commercial posted on our website partner will honour the outstanding warranties. 2. Will the De Dietrich and Fagor brands be continued? The De Dietrich brand is expected to continue. The Fagor brand is not expected to be continued. 3. Who can fix my appliance? Customers should complete the "Contact Us" form on the De Dietrich website (" following which they will be contacted directly in order to make any necessary arrangements. Fagor customers will not be able to arrange the service or repair of their appliances through the Company and as such should seek an independent service provider. A list of approved agents cannot currently be provided. Should this change details will be posted on our website. 4. How do I register a claim for financial loss? At the current time, no claim should arise as it is anticipated that warranties on the De Dietrich branded products will be covered by a new commercial partner. A proof of debt form will be sent to you by the liquidator. If you have not received such a form you can contact James Cowper on or irobinson@jamescowper.co.uk and request that a claim form is sent to you. Fagor customers will need to complete a proof of debt form and return it to the liquidator. 5. How do I quantify my claim? Not applicable - See 4. above You should estimate the loss that you have suffered. If you pay an independent repairer you will be entitled to claim for this amount. You should provide copies of the receipts for the work to the liquidator in support of your claim. If your product is beyond economical repair then you will be entitled to make a claim for a replacement appliance not including charges for delivery, installation or disposal of the old appliance. 6. How much will I be paid and when will I receive the money? Not applicable - See 4. above It is likely that creditors with valid claims will receive a percentage of their claim in due course provided that they have submitted a proof of debt form (see "How do I register my claim") by a date to be

5 specified (but likely to be no earlier than 30 September 2014). It is not possible at this stage to indicate the level or timing of this distribution. 7. Can I buy stock or parts? There is no UK stock of available parts. Once there has been an announcement regarding a new commercial partner their details will also be provided on our website. A new commercial partner should be able to source parts. There is no UK stock of available parts. Fagor parts may be sourced from third party distributors such as (Tel ) In the meantime, De Dietrich parts may be sourced from third party distributors such as (Tel ) 8. When is the creditors' meeting? The creditors' meeting is being held on Monday 11 August 2014 at 10am at the offices of James Cowper LLP in London. The address is 1 Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1BR. 9. If I do not attend the creditors' meeting will my claim be affected? 10. I have concerns about the directors' conduct what should I do? There is no requirement for creditors to attend the meeting of creditors, or to be represented at the meeting by a proxy holder, and it will not prejudice your claim if you do not attend. You do, however, need to submit a proof of debt form to register your claim in the liquidation - see "How do I register my claim?" As a matter of routine on all cases we circulate the form "Enquiry Into Company's Insolvency" which can be used for this purpose. To obtain copies of this form contact James Cowper on or irobinson@jamescowper.co.uk.