The liquidators of CNG Ltd, the Harrogate energy company that went bust in 2021, are being paid at a rate of £659 per hour, according to a document filed with Companies House.

CNG fell victim to the same market volatility that claimed dozens of other UK energy providers, including Bulb, Orbit, Avro and Together. Its demise in February 2022 left 145 local people out of work.

Following a period of administration, liquidators Tim Bateson and Chris Pole of Birmingham-based Interpath Ltd were appointed in October 2023.

In a statement of receipts and payments covering their first year as liquidators, they state that they incurred time costs of £101,745. These represent 154 hours at an average rate of £659 per hour – well above the average amount charged by UK insolvency practitioners of £200-400.

If paid at the same rate, a worker earning the average UK salary of £37,430 would need to work for less than eight days a year.

£106,000 loan

The liquidators’ statement also reveals they are still trying to secure repayment of a £106,000 loan provided to a former, unnamed director of CNG, adding: “at present, repayment terms have not been agreed”.

In their efforts to recover the money, they have incurred an extra £6,178 in legal fees to Nottingham-based Nelsons Solicitors Ltd.

When the list of creditors was drawn up by administrators, employees were first in line for repayment of outstanding amounts, as is the norm in insolvency cases.

As a result, a total of £44,412 has been paid out to former employees, comprising a maximum of £800 each in payment of outstanding wages, plus any accrued holiday pay and pension benefits.

In October 2022, 46 former members of staff at CNG were awarded £210,000 after they claimed the company had not followed the correct redundancy procedures when the firm went into administration.

Unsecured creditors

Claims by unsecured creditors came to £41.1 million. In March, it was announced they would receive 13.7p in the pound, meaning they have been repaid a total of £5,628,198 since then.

The liquidators expect that these unsecured creditors will receive another sum of money, termed a dividend, at some point, but said the timing and amount of any such repayment would depend on the realisation of intercompany debts from other parts of the group – Energy, Wholesale and CNG 2.

Final administrators’ fees of £168,759, administrators’ expenses of £817, and pre-administration administrators’ fees of £6,062, as well as £15,754 in legal fees to Addleshaw Goddard for advice provided regarding shareholder rights and the order of distribution to shareholders.

In its 27-page statement, the liquidators said their primary strategy was to “realise additional funds from intercompany debtors and subsidiaries in order to maximise the return to creditors”. It added: