In what circumstances would this be preferable to administration or selling as a going concern OSB. I'm curious as to how this might play out pending the courts decision on the appeal.
to start with i am not convinced they would take such an action, however i do not rule it out
Depends if selling gains them more than say the crystallisation of tax losses from liquidation that they can utilise elsewhere for example. They say the losses they have made are over £70m which at basic corporation tax rate 19% could equate to 13m tax saving (just to be clear i do not know what the figures really are or how they could utilise the losses if available) it is just an example.
It might be cheaper to liquidate SBS&L and Otium than pay mounting legal costs is another example possibility
The value of CCFC without a place to play is very much less next summer than the most recent offers, that in itself could make drastic actions a choice and ccfc more vulnerable
I dont think they would do it out of spite as such, they are too hard nosed and calculating. It would be done on a basis of what is best for their investors overall interests and Otium is a small part of that total investment portfolio
The one action i am actually least convinced about is administration. It makes no sense for SISU to choose that route. Last time if cost over £1m but it was done for a specific purpose. In a new Administration then SISU as the largest creditor of Otium (via ARVO) would control it just as last time, effectively taking the hit on the fees. It would be more cost effective to simply sell the Otium assets (no one in their right mind would buy the actual company in my opinion).