Alpari UK Placed in Special Administration by FCA as No Deal Has Been Reached

Alpari UK has just been placed in special administration. The broker’s board of directors has looked for a buyer to take over its business to prevent the company from reaching this situation, but as Forex Magnates previously reported, they failed.

According to sources, KPMG is already in the broker’s office as the accounting firm was appointed by the FCA as Alpari UK’s special administrator. This means that KPMG will  try to find a buyer for the broker themselves in a last effort to save the business or will have to oversee the distribution of the company’s cash and funds back to clients.

Join the iFX EXPO Asia and discover your gateway to the Asian Markets

Richard Heis, pictured, partner at KPMG and joint special administrator commented about the appointment, in a statement he said: “Following the announcement by the SNB last week, Alpari (UK) Ltd sustained substantial losses as a result of negative client balances, and was faced with no other choice but to enter into special administration. We have had a number of enquiries from interested parties in relation to the company’s business. We will be speaking with these parties and others over the next few days, and hope to secure a deal to preserve the business and jobs as far as possible.”

He continued: “The company holds some $98.5 million of retail client money which has been segregated and we shall be returning this to clients or making other suitable arrangements in accordance with statute and the regulatory framework at the earliest opportunity.”

As far as Forex Magnates knows, client funds have not been compromised as they are segregated based on FCA rules.

Update: New Announcement on Alpari UK Website

“Upon the application of the directors of Alpari (UK) Ltd, on Monday 19 January 2015, the High Court appointed Richard Heis, Samantha Bewick and Mark Firmin of KPMG LLP as joint special administrators of Alpari (UK) Ltd, under the Special Administration Regime (SAR). Alpari (UK) Ltd is a company incorporated in the UK.

Alpari (UK) Ltd applied for insolvency on Monday 19 January 2015 following the decision on Thursday 15 January 2015 by the Swiss National Bank to remove the informal peg to the euro at around 1.20 Swiss francs. The announcement by the SNB prompted volatility across the foreign exchange markets which saw the company and many of its clients make large losses. After a weekend spent in urgent discussions with various parties with a view to selling the company, these efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.
We have had a number of enquiries from interested parties in relation to the company’s business. We will be speaking with these parties and others over the next few days, and hope to secure a deal to preserve the business and jobs as far as possible.

For all queries, please contact:
alpariukclaims@kpmg.co.uk

The administrators will endeavour to respond to your query as soon as possible.”