Substantial seizure for Sherforce
The recovery of an international debt amounting to over £1.4 billion has been successfully aided by the UK’s leading High Court enforcement agency.
Sherforce, which specialises in collecting business debts, was requested by a firm of solicitors to recover the substantial sum owed to their U.S. based client, believed to be the biggest Writ issued in England and Wales to date.
A team from Sherforce attended and took possession of a property in London owned by the defendants worth £5.5million, with assets worth over £100,000. Contents included a number of televisions, furniture, designer clothing, silverware and a Mercedes 4×4 motor vehicle, but the most intriguing discovery was a package sealed up and ready to be sent to the USA, which contained four pictures valued between £8,000 and £12,000 each.
Alan Smith, Manager of Sherforce, who liaised with the solicitors and a locksmith to coordinate the recovery, said: “All the available assets in England and Wales owned by the defendants have been seized and sold at auction, amounting to over £5.6 million in total.”
“Where property is owned by the defendants abroad, the equivalent of High Court Enforcement Officers in other countries will retrieve realizable assets contributing to the recovery of the £1.4 billion debt.”
Further details of the case, including the name of the client, cannot be disclosed due to client confidentiality.
Sherforce, whose headquarters are at Westwood Park in Colchester, employs 94 people in Colchester, London, Leeds, and Delhi, 40 of whom are high court enforcement officers, making it the largest agency in the UK, handling 40% of the market’s workload. It is the only enforcement firm in the top 200 law firms, and is the sixth oldest law firm in the UK, dating back to 1780.
According to Claire Sandbrook, Chief Executive of parent company Shergroup Legal and Financial Services: “I am pleased that a Writ of such magnitude was executed so successfully by Sherforce. Although £5.6 million may seem like a drop in the ocean compared to the full debt, the contribution is substantial and Alan and his team at Sherforce should be proud of this accomplishment.”