16 May 2017 The Misinformed Ire of A Parliamentary Committee
Real Deals’ reporter, Lucy White, examines the controversy surrounding Rutland’s exit from Bernard Matthews:
The misinformed ire of a parliamentary committee over the Bernard Matthews pension scheme begs the question: Who would want to be a turnaround investor?
Last month, turnaround investor Rutland Partners found itself the target of an irate parliamentary committee. The controversy centred around the firm’s 2016 exit of Bernard Matthews, a troubled turkey producer which had suffered during the 2007 bird flu pandemic. The sale involved jettisoning the business’ pension scheme through a pre-pack administration, while Rutland itself made around £5m from the failed turnaround.
Rutland denied the allegations from the House of Commons’ Work and Pensions Committee that it had made the move simply to “line its own pockets”, in the face of an offer which would have been better for the pensioners. It maintained that it had always acted in the best interests of its portfolio company, and did what it could to keep the business operational.