Quinn Insurance in Administration

[Orangemac]

This protest seems to be getting out of hand. Surely this is not employees, what would they think this was acheiving?

Could there be dissidents involved in this as part of some "anti-capitalist" campaign?

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/quinn-chief-targeted-in-arson-attack-wont-be-intimidated-2844149.html

[supersarsfields]

Just can't see what they think they will achieve with this? It's not going to help things in the long run and things are grim enough without all this happening.
That said I'd cry no tears for POB. He was one of the main men in organising the whole take over at a time when he was meant to be working for SQ. He did enough to ensure he would be sitting pretty at a time when most other in the company were still fighting to get a resolution to keep SQ involved. And trust me he's been well looked after by Anglo for "work done" during the take over that the cost of a new car won't make a dent in that.

It would be his family that I'd feel sorry for.

I see Anglo turned done an offer to purchase parts of the company there by a few Ex Directors including Liam McCaffery. They would have been as well to get rid of it as they're running it into the ground at the minute. Know ones who work in both the Cement and Raditors and they are saying it's like a morgue. People struggling to find work to do and sales hitting the floor. They seem to reckon that Anglo's hand will be forced as they can't allow it to continue the way it's going. They've already had to take a £40Million loan out to keep the companies afloat.

[tommysmith]

.

I see Anglo turned done an offer to purchase parts of the company there by a few Ex Directors including Liam McCaffery. They would have been as well to get rid of it as they're running it into the ground at the minute. Know ones who work in both the Cement and Raditors and they are saying it's like a morgue. People struggling to find work to do and sales hitting the floor. They seem to reckon that Anglo's hand will be forced as they can't allow it to continue the way it's going. They've already had to take a £40Million loan out to keep the companies afloat.

I have been told that they are going as well as they have ever been and thats from current workers.

[Franko]

Jesus that must be tough for you!  My sincerest condolences.

[Bogball XV]

Well my Fiance works in Raditors and sister in law works in the weighing bay in cement and both are dead. The only one holdings it's own is Glass.
The cement is really tailing of. Despite what Anglo are spouting some customers have stopped dealing with them altogether.

I think I said this before SS, but with the economy the way it is and especially the construction (or lack of) industry, how could these companies not be in bother regardless of ownership?

[supersarsfields]

I've nevered said that they wouldn't be struggling Regardless BB. Which is exactly why losing a couple of customers now is a bigger problem than if they were doing well.

  Very good Franco. :-))

[tommysmith]

Well my Fiance works in Raditors and sister in law works in the weighing bay in cement and both are dead. The only one holdings it's own is Glass.
The cement is really tailing of. Despite what Anglo are spouting some customers have stopped dealing with them altogether.

Oh i think it was the glass that the person i was talking to may have been on about.

[Lone Shark]

http://www.thejournal.ie/government-proposes-levy-on-insurance-policies-to-pay-for-quinn-bailout-226031-Sep2011/

Nothing really new in this, but again I'd be interested to hear if those who would have been supporters of the Quinn Group still feel that none of this would have been necessary if the regulator had left everything alone?

[supersarsfields]

It wasn't necessary because the regulator had other options open to him rather than placing the company into administration, not least the option allowed to VHI to work their solvency (Which is alot worse that QDI's was) up towards the required rate of 150% ( a far higher rate than required in most EU countries). But the FR was ready to make a big name for himself and decided to take the nuclear option.

And something Irish tax payers should be more interested in is....

From the Irish Independent.

FRESH efforts are under way to restructure the Quinn Group's loans after "challenging" trading triggered fears that the conglomerate couldn't support its €700m debt pile.

Sources last night confirmed that bondholders have already been asked to release the Quinn Group from some of its debt obligations agreed back in April.

It is understood that as much as €100m of bonds could be moved from the mainstream Quinn Group to a non-core unit, which has a materially worse credit profile than the main group.

Majority-owner Anglo Irish Bank has ruled out putting cash in to ease the Quinn Group's difficulties, but may have to cede some control to bondholders to convince them to sign up to the new deal.

This could include giving up a veto on any asset sales for the next five years, though sources said it was too early to be specific about any potential concessions.

Initial meetings with a group of more than 120 bondholders took place in London on Wednesday -- the price of Quinn Group debt fell significantly afterwards.

Sources last night confirmed further meetings would take place on Tuesday between the group and bondholders, including US hedge fund Silver Point Capital which has taken a significant position in Quinn Group debt in recent months.

"This is the beginning of a process, but we're hopeful that we can get agreement," one source said, adding that all parties would lose out if the April deal fell apart.

Rescue

Quinn Group chief Paul O'Brien last night insisted the situation does not give rise "to major issues between the parties" and that the group's rescue was still on track.

If the Quinn Group deal breaks down, the sale of Quinn Insurance to Anglo and Liberty Mutual would have to be significantly modified and could collapse.

At meetings this week, Mr O'Brien is understood to have told lenders that 2011's earnings will come in at between €80m and €85m, and not the €100m previously expected.

Mr O'Brien also presented a five-year business plan that was less optimistic than some bondholders had expected, despite recent public comments from Anglo about the Quinn Group's "challenging" trading.

Mr O'Brien said the group was "settling on our banking covenants" ahead of full implementation of the restructuring agreement in April.

"This would be a normal course of events and I would not regard this as giving rise to major issues between the parties," he added. "We are on track to implement the restructuring next month."

The new agreement would see bondholders transfer some of the €700m of bonds that are currently with Quinn Group to a non-core entity that already holds €588m of debt.

The exact amounts of debt to go across have not yet been finalised, but the Irish Independent understands the figure could be as high as €100m.

Under the April deal, Anglo retained an absolute veto over a number of decisions at the Quinn Group, including the sale of assets and redundancies
It is understood that some elements of this veto may have to be "relaxed" to convince the bondholders to come on board with the new structure..[/b]


First thing to note is that the Anglo allege to have lower the debt attributed to the company and yet they've tripled the interest payments from £30m to £100m a year. You can tell they sent their best negotiator to that meeting if that's the case!!


I've highlighted the biggest aspect of this article for the people in the border areas. This is despite the promises that Anglo made at the time that there would be no sale of assets within the first 5 years in order to try and quell the unrest. 
And it's the tax payer who's footing the bill as these companies continue to drop in value due to Anglo's inability to organise a piss up in a brewery. And with the additional news that the court cases may now be heard in the European court rather than the Irish one they're grasp on the overseas properties (Roughly £500M) may be alot thinner than they had hoped!!

[supersarsfields]

It's a sign of how bad things are getting for Anglo and their attempt to run the QG when they have the Taoiseach chasing customers in Mayo for Quinn Cement who have stopped trading with Quinns since they removed SQ.

But sure they've lost no customers apparently!! 

[supersarsfields]

Any wonder the group's struggling with 1M a week payments!! 

^{THIS is the corporate troubleshooter hired to restructure the Quinn Group. He is paid €915 an hour — equivalent to about €7,000 for an eight-hour day, the Sunday Independent has learned.
This makes accountant and now director of the Quinn Group Murdoch McKillop the highest-paid consultant in Ireland, on a potential weekly wage of €36,000.
The bill is now being picked up by the Quinn Group — and by extension the taxpayer- owned Anglo Irish Bank, which is owed €2.88bn by Sean Quinn and his family. Last week, Anglo chairman Alan Dukes told an Oireachtas committee that the failed bank would end up costing the Irish taxpayer an estimated €25bn to clean up.
Anglo, which appointed a share receiver to the Quinn Group on April 14 to take control of the Quinn family's equity interest in the Quinn Group, did not hire Mr McKillop. A former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, Mr McKillop was actually appointed in 2010 at the behest of a number of other banks and institutions which agreed his fees at that time.
This newspaper has learned that the total bill for consultants, advisers and directors with the Quinn Group is now running at close to €1m a week. In a statement to the Sunday Independent, the Quinn Group said: "Such is the restructuring challenge facing the company that both it and its lenders have had to incur significant costs in relation to this complex work.
"The company's management and its advisers are working hard to complete the restructuring as quickly as possible and with a view to minimising these costs." Mr McKillop, of the London- based consultancy Talbot Hughes McKillop, is considered to be a worldwide expert on corporate restructuring. He led many of the UK's largest insolvency projects, including the truck company Leyland DAF.
He also hit the headlines when he was appointed joint administrator of the Maxwell private companies, which imploded following the death of publisher Robert Maxwell, owner of the Daily Mirror, who went overboard and drowned in unexplained circumstances from his luxury yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, in the early 1990s. The Sunday Independent has learned that Mr McKillop, an avid sailor, is on £795 per hour (€913) for his work with the Quinn Group. The fee was agreed in sterling because the company's headquarters are in Derrylin, Co Fermanagh.
His appointment followed representations made by the European and American lenders at the time when the company first got into difficulties. They believed that they needed a corporate heavy-hitter to carry out the restructuring of the company. Sean Quinn was still chairman of Quinn Group at that time. In a rare newspaper interview, Mr McKillop once described the qualities required by those charged with conducting successful insolvency projects.
"I see there being two qualities in particular which successful practitioners have: first, the ability to see through the haze and get down to the important matters; second, an unpanicable manner.
"You mustn't lose your head when things become a bit frantic. You've also got to be able to listen, make your own judgement and communicate that judgement to the client. Those are the key qualities." Mr McKillop joined Arthur Andersen as a graduate recruit from Strathclyde University in Glasgow and stayed there until 2002, when he joined the high-level corporaterestructuring firm Talbot Hughes McKillop LLP.
Though now based in London, Mr McKillop retains his links to his native Scotland through his love of sailing. He is a member of the Royal Northern Yacht Club in Rhu.}

[Orangemac]

I'm sure he's worth every penny.

Surely it would make sense to have lower basic wages and a high bonus based around results.

[trileacman]

It's a sign of how bad things are getting for Anglo and their attempt to run the QG when they have the Taoiseach chasing customers in Mayo for Quinn Cement who have stopped trading with Quinns since they removed SQ.

But sure they've lost no customers apparently!! 

My father did the same with the car insurance, wee girl rung him up to see why and he told her out straight. went on a bit of a rant actually!

[supersarsfields]

<sup>FINANCIAL Regulator Matthew Elderfield banned Quinn Insurance's administrators from considering any bids linked to the Quinn family or the insurer's senior management, a Sinn Fein TD claimed yesterday.
Speaking in the Dail yesterday, Caoimhghin O Caolain also cited a recording of one of the administrators telling the insurer's staff that the Quinn family would "never have any involvement whatsoever in this insurance company ever, ever again".
The politician is now calling for the imminent sale of Quinn Insurance to be suspended so there can be a full statutory inquiry into the deal to sell the insurer to Anglo Irish Bank and US insurer Liberty Mutual.
The dramatic claims came as the Dail heard submissions before a vote on legislation to create a €720m Insurance Compensation Fund that will deal with the fallout of Quinn Insurance's collapse.
Mr O Caolain told the house that he headed up a cross-party group that attended a meeting with Mr Elderfield and Central Bank Governor Patrick Honohan on January 25 last.
"In response to a direct question . . . Mr Elderfield stated he had made it abundantly clear to the administrators and to all stakeholders, that there was to be no consideration given to any proposals whatsoever that involved Sean Quinn, his family or any of his senior management team," Mr O Caolain said.
"In other words, and contrary to normal procedure, the administrators had not a free hand."
Mr Elderfield was attending a conference in Korea yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
The Central Bank declined to comment in his absence, but it is understood that Central Bank records of the meeting differ materially from Mr O Caolain's recollection.
The records show that Mr Elderfield was asked whether he had received any proposal from the Quinn family around the insurance company.
He is recorded as having said he had not received any proposals.
The records also show Mr Elderfield mentioned that any individuals involved in a Quinn bid would have to meet the requirements of the Central Bank's new 'fitness and probity' regime.
Mr O'Caoláin also quoted from what he termed a "purported transcript" of comments by Quinn Insurance's joint administrator Michael McAteer, where Mr McAteer stated: "let me be categoric ... the Quinn family are gone".
"They will never have any involvement whatsoever in this insurance company ever, ever again. Now I've been saying that for months," he reportedly added.
It is understood that the comments were made on a conference call with Quinn Insurance employee representatives last December.
The administrators last night said they "strongly condemned" the "unauthorised recording" and said its leaking was "desinged, in their view, to destabilise the comapny and detract from the forthcoming sale of the business".
"The circumstances surrounding the unauthorised recording are being investigated," they added.
- Laura Noonan</sup>

 


Think the Regulator might have a bit of explaining to do on this one. And from what I hear the administers might have a few figures to explain aswell. Not least a breakdown of exactly what Liberty were GIVEN to take on the company and how their benifiting from the sale more so than the Irish taxpayers!!

[trileacman]

<sup>FINANCIAL Regulator Matthew Elderfield banned Quinn Insurance's administrators from considering any bids linked to the Quinn family or the insurer's senior management, a Sinn Fein TD claimed yesterday.
Speaking in the Dail yesterday, Caoimhghin O Caolain also cited a recording of one of the administrators telling the insurer's staff that the Quinn family would "never have any involvement whatsoever in this insurance company ever, ever again".
The politician is now calling for the imminent sale of Quinn Insurance to be suspended so there can be a full statutory inquiry into the deal to sell the insurer to Anglo Irish Bank and US insurer Liberty Mutual.
The dramatic claims came as the Dail heard submissions before a vote on legislation to create a €720m Insurance Compensation Fund that will deal with the fallout of Quinn Insurance's collapse.
Mr O Caolain told the house that he headed up a cross-party group that attended a meeting with Mr Elderfield and Central Bank Governor Patrick Honohan on January 25 last.
"In response to a direct question . . . Mr Elderfield stated he had made it abundantly clear to the administrators and to all stakeholders, that there was to be no consideration given to any proposals whatsoever that involved Sean Quinn, his family or any of his senior management team," Mr O Caolain said.
"In other words, and contrary to normal procedure, the administrators had not a free hand."
Mr Elderfield was attending a conference in Korea yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
The Central Bank declined to comment in his absence, but it is understood that Central Bank records of the meeting differ materially from Mr O Caolain's recollection.
The records show that Mr Elderfield was asked whether he had received any proposal from the Quinn family around the insurance company.
He is recorded as having said he had not received any proposals.
The records also show Mr Elderfield mentioned that any individuals involved in a Quinn bid would have to meet the requirements of the Central Bank's new 'fitness and probity' regime.
Mr O'Caoláin also quoted from what he termed a "purported transcript" of comments by Quinn Insurance's joint administrator Michael McAteer, where Mr McAteer stated: "let me be categoric ... the Quinn family are gone".
"They will never have any involvement whatsoever in this insurance company ever, ever again. Now I've been saying that for months," he reportedly added.
It is understood that the comments were made on a conference call with Quinn Insurance employee representatives last December.
The administrators last night said they "strongly condemned" the "unauthorised recording" and said its leaking was "desinged, in their view, to destabilise the comapny and detract from the forthcoming sale of the business".
"The circumstances surrounding the unauthorised recording are being investigated," they added.
- Laura Noonan</sup>

 


Think the Regulator might have a bit of explaining to do on this one. And from what I hear the administers might have a few figures to explain aswell. Not least a breakdown of exactly what Liberty were GIVEN to take on the company and how their benifiting from the sale more so than the Irish taxpayers!!

Nothing would surprise me about the Quinn situatio anymore, it could turn out they are flushing money down the toilet or burning Irish flags in the heaters and I wouldn't raise an eyebrow. "Sure they're just about for the money". A situation bereft of an morality.