We are helping a group of pharmaceutical manufacturers with a c. £4 million claim against an asset-based lender. The lender was factoring invoices for a company that distributes pharmaceutical products to major retailers like Boots and Tesco. Our client engaged this company as a distributor for its products, on the agreement that it would hold monies collected from its customers on trust for our client.
The distributor went into administration in February 2020, owing our client c. £4 million. However, the lender claims the monies collected from the customers belong to them as factor. The legal arguments are complex and involve novel points on trust and agency law. We and our client are delighted that we were able to resolve this dispute through alternative dispute resolution.