Bernard Matthews - Regulatory intervention report | The Pensions Regulator
Summary
This led to their being able to control the decisions taken at board level due to the percentage weighting that their vote would carry.Rutlands investment was considered to be high risk, with little or no assurance that they would get any return. Clearance is a voluntary process where, if approved, we agree not to use our anti-avoidance powers in relation to a transaction.Efforts to turn BML around in the subsequent years were undermined by a decline in poultry prices in late 2015. However, the poor trading conditions continued and by early 2016 Rutland, assisted by professional advisers, decided to seek a buyer for the business while also considering restructuring options.By July 2016, only two credible offers to purchase the Bernard Matthews group had been received. This offer was sufficient to pay the bank with its first charge but would have involved Rutland writing off the majority of its original investment as well as the accrued payment in kind interest in its entirety. The BML board took the view, having taken professional advice, that a sale of the business via a pre-pack insolvency was the most appropriate option at the time, taking into account the interests of all of the groups creditors.