Senior employees at Carillion’s liquidator PwC earned an average hourly rate of up to £1,156 for their services, it has emerged.
A letter from PwC to the joint chairs of the Carillion Joint Inquiry, the MPs Rachel Reeves and Frank Field, has been published confirming that the company charged a total of £20.4m for the first eight weeks of Carillion’s liquidation.
The company said it represented 57,500 hours of work at a rate of £356 per hour and that it discussed its costs weekly with the Official Receiver.
Breaking down its rates (all of which were shown net of a discount negotiated with the Official Receiver), the average hourly rate that PwC employees charged ranged from £63 for client account support staff, up to £260 for a senior associate, £406 for a senior manager and £648 for a partner.
Of the 57,500 hours’ work by the firm, 13,656 of those hours were charged by specialist staff "who have been required to assist PwC’s restructuring staff due to the complexities of the work involved".
Work by those specialists cost nearly £5.4m at an average rate of £393 per hour. The highest charge-out rates were by the firm’s pension specialists. The highest charge-out rate for an associate was £162 per hour, £412 for a senior associate, £816 for a senior manager and £1,156 for a partner.
PwC has been contacted for comment.
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AT LEAST THERE IS MASSIVE PROFIT MARGINS IN ONE AREA OF CONSTRUCTION , COMPANIES CAN ONLY DREAM OF THOSE RATES
THIS PRACTICE OF CHARGING EXORBITANT FEES WHEN A COMPANY GOES INTO LIQUIDATION HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR FAR TOO LONG IN CONSTRUCTION FAILURES AND OTHER COMPANY FAILURES.
IT IS A SAD FACT THAT ONLY LIQUIDATORS PROFIT FROM THESE EVENTS. CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD SET REALISTIC COST RATES FOR THIS. I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AMAZED AT THE NUMBER OF “VERY HIGHLY QUALIFIED” STAFF THAT IS REQUIRED FOR THIS TASK.
OUR TOP ACCOUNTANCY FIRMS LOOK ON THIS WORK AS “A GOOD EARNER”. THEY HAVE NO INTEREST IN THE CREDITORS OR SHAREHOLDERS – OR IN BEING “PROFESSIONAL. THEIR ONLY INTERST IS IN CHARGING HUGE FEES.
MARK’S COMMENT IS CORRECT – COMPANIES CAN ONLY DREAM OF SUCH STAFF RATES.
THIS DISGRACE SHOULD BE OUTLAWED – BUT BY WHOM?
average of £356 per hour…..20.4m over first 8 weeks…..equals 57,300 hours….assuming 50 hour work weeks that mean they managed to mobilise 143 full time staff very quickly…
can anyone get me 143 bricklayers for the next 8 weeks as fast please?
Every cloud has a silver lining……….. for some people
It is also very interesting that PWC were one of the 12 consulting firms paid more that £6,000,000 on Friday 13 January 2018, just two days before the liquidator was appointed and that no enquiry into these payments has emerged.
This monopoly or duopoly or oligopoly has to stop, we do not need to spend on killing an already fatally mauled contractor/s. Let liquidators be appointed from amongst much smaller accountancy firms with much smaller fees with just as good accountancy experience. Enough is probably enough!!
The saddest part of this is all the subcontractors who will have gone out of business in the ensuing months while they tried and failed to claim owed monies as creditors.
How many of those companies would still be around if the liquidators hadn’t charged such exorbitant fees? I’m sure the liquidators take their money before the creditors get a slice.