Administrators for a collapsed modular contractor have said there are “insufficient funds” to distribute to supply chain creditors, while the firm’s secured creditor has only received a fifth what it was owed.
Sheffield-based IDMH, trading as Lighthouse, went into administration in April last year with the loss of 113 jobs after a failed attempt to sell the business.
In a progress report filed with Companies House yesterday (29 April), joint administrators Richard Goodall and Martyn Rickels of FRP Advisory said that Lighthouse owed £32.3m to unsecured creditors at the time they were appointed.
This total comprised £1m owed to supply chain creditors, £30.8m owed in unsecured shareholder loans and £481,040 in redundancy claims and pay in lieu of notice.
“There are insufficient funds” available to pay these creditors, the administrators said.
They added that their calculations were based on information available to them. The administrators have requested a statement of affairs from the directors of Lighthouse but it has not yet been provided, according to the progress report.
Goodall and Rickels said that the secured creditor, financial services firm 3FS Capital Ltd, provided Lighthouse with a loan in February 2024. The loan’s outstanding balance was £352,917 plus interest at the time the firm went under.
3FS Capital has received £70,000 of this total to date, and the administrators said there were “insufficient funds” to enable more to be paid.
They also concluded that secondary preferential creditor HMRC will not receive the £717,899 it is owed, while employees will be left empty-handed from their £184,565 claim for pay arrears, unpaid pension contributions and holiday pay.
The administrators said they had recovered a full and final settlement from the remaining debtor. This and other debts recovered during the administration process totalled £35,376.
“There are no other known assets to realise,” Goodall and Rickels added.
The FRP progress report said a 12-month extension to the administration until 21 March 2026 was required “to allow further time to conclude all administrative matters”.
These issues relate to VAT and the preparation of corporate tax returns for the administration period.
The administrators concluded that they expected Lighthouse to be dissolved “once all outstanding matters have been finalised”.