Judge Briggs has this morning approved an administration application for UK bridging lender Market Financial Solutions (MFS) — whose CEO Paresh Raja has been accused of fraud — despite pleas for an adjournment from a group of unsecured creditors who disputed the choice of administrator.
The court-approved application sought the appointment of Alastair Beveridge, Benjamin Browne, and Simon Appell from Alix Partners as joint administrators. It was brought by Amber Bridging Limited and Zircon Bridging Limited, two asset-based finance funding vehicles of MFS, both of which are in administration.
The fraud allegations — which include potential double-pledging of assets — are reminiscent of the recent cases of First Brands and Tricolor in the US that have shaken the private asset-based lending industry.
“This Application is urgent because there are real and serious concerns about mismanagement of the Company and entities in the wider Company group,” said the applicants in their skeleton argument. “…there is evidence of serious irregularities in the management of the key bank accounts into which collections in relation to the Applicants’ mortgage loan portfolio are supposed to be paid by the Company as the servicer entity in the group. There also appears to be a...
