Empty coffers at E-Clear seal fate of Flyglobespan creditors

THE credit card processing firm whose £35 million debt to Scottish airline Flyglobespan led to its sudden collapse last December had "nul points" in its coffers when creditors were called in, it emerged yesterday.

Malcolm Cohen, business restructuring partner for administrators BDO LLP, said only 72,000 has since been raised in assets. Creditors are owed more than 100m.

E-Clear's financial position quashes the remote possibility that thousands of the airline's passengers could receive more than 5 per cent of their lost money, as detailed at a meeting by PricewaterhouseCoopers administrators for Flyglobespan creditors in Edinburgh earlier this week.

Yesterday, BDO LLP held a meeting in London with those owed money by E-Clear, which collapsed in January with more than 80m debts.

Mr Cohen said Elias Elia, E-Clear's chief executive, was not present at the meeting but BDO joint administrators had had a number of meetings with him.

BDO also indicated that extra cash may be needed to continue its scrutiny into the company detailing that its cost were already well over 300,000 and that its fees had "burnt through" E-Clear's 72,000.

Mr Cohen said there would be a further detailed investigation of Mr Elia's finances but that since it was "more complex and challenging than the average" this could take up to two years.