Creditors of collapsed energy firm owed £68m

ROBIN Hood Energy has received claims from more than 320 people and organisations owed money by the collapsed firm, with a combined total of £68m.

But with a balance of just over £13m available, creditors are only expected to receive a small dividend as those in charge of the process say “no further avenues” of recovering money have been found.

Nottingham City Council established the company back in 2015 with the aim of tackling the stranglehold of the ‘Big Six’ energy firms. Despite boasting more than 125,000 customers at its peak, the company’s losses soon mounted while the council continued propping it up.

The Labour-led authority was eventually accused of “institutional blindness” for its continued support of Robin Hood Energy, which entered administration in January 2020. The council’s total losses are expected to cost the taxpayer £38m.

When a business goes into liquidation, a company is appointed to investigate that business’ finances and see how many assets can be sold off. The cash achieved from selling these assets is then used to pay those owed money.

Money is first given to ‘preferential creditors’ before the remainder goes to ‘unsecured creditors’. In Robin Hood Energy’s case, an update published on Companies House on Monday says the only preferential creditor was HMRC and they have now been paid £917,000.

Matthew Cowlishaw, liquidator for Robin Hood Energy, said that in terms of unsecured creditors, 320 claims were received up to December 19 and their combined value is £68m. It means the total value of claims now received by unsecured creditors has jumped by around £1m since the last update in February 2023.

Mr Cowlishaw said: “Based on present information, sufficient funds will be realised to enable a dividend to be paid to unsecured creditors. The quantum of the dividend is expected to be in the region of [19 pence per pound] however, this is subject to change.”

The report said that it expects to tell creditors how much they will be paid in the “coming weeks.”