CR-2023-002766 - [2025] EWHC 2818 (Ch)

I have before me an application notice dated 18 June 2025 by the joint special administrators of Monneo Limited. Monneo Limited (the “Company”) is an authorised payment institution regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under The Payment Services Regulations 2017 (the “PSR 2017”). By this application, the Joint Special Administrators (“JSAs”) have applied to the court pursuant to The Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021 (the “2021 Regulations”) and The Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2021 the “2021 Rules”) for, in broad terms, the approval of a distribution plan, the fixing of a hard bar date (which I will explain, but is essentially a date by which claims must be made and if they are not made, they can be disregarded in the distribution process), thirdly, an ancillary order limiting access to the court file under Rule 189 of the 2021 Rules, and finally an order for costs.

One application, or ancillary application, that is within the application notice but is not pursued is for permission to make an interim distribution notwithstanding that there might be an appeal against a decision of the JSAs with respect to a claim brought by a relevant person with a claim to relevant funds.

The evidence in support comprises three witness statements from Mr Conway, one of the JSAs, dated respectively, in the case of the first two witness statements, 18 June of this year and, as regards the final witness statement, 14 October. The first witness statement sets out the evidence supporting the application. There is a small part of it (or an exhibit to it) which is the subject of the application under Rule 189.

The second witness statement is one to which an order under Rule 189 is sought. It deals in large part with certain steps that the JSAs have had to take in relation to regulatory reports and the JSAs’ investigations in connection with such matters. The relevance of that information for present purposes is in part to explain the delay which has taken place since an administration order was made and a distribution plan was proposed but also to explain in part the costs that have been incurred by the JSAs and which form an element which I will come on to in the distribution plan.

As regards the third witness statement, that is an updating witness statement to provide the court with relevant information following the date of the application.

The Company, as I have said, is an authorised payment institution which was incorporated on 29 March 2016 under the name “E-Pay International Limited”. It adopted its current name on 10 February 2021. The Company was established as a specialist money transfer business in the e-commerce space to provide a more efficient means of remitting and disbursing funds received from multiple sources. However, the business evolved and from 2019 it was also authorised to execute payment transactions. In broad terms, prior to entering special administration, it provided payment solutions to corporate customers in the e-commerce sector through a dedicated banking platform and related services comprising virtual IBANs and user interface to manage incoming and outgoing domestic and international payments and business to business payments. In that respect, it maintained outsourcing arrangements with a sister company in the Czech Republic as well as having a separate arrangement with an entity in Bulgaria.

Before me is Mr William Willson on behalf of the applicants has appeared instructed by Simmons & Simmons LLP. I am grateful to him for his extremely helpful submissions both written and oral and also, of course, to the solicitors and JSAs for the helpful way in which the evidence has been put together and also been helpfully presented.