“We are happy to have lost this appeal” – Frost Group v The GoodBox - Court of Appeal

“We are happy to have lost this appeal” – Frost Group v The GoodBox - Court of Appeal

In this latest Judgment between GoodBox and Frost Group, clarity has been given for future legal proceedings.

GoodBox, a FinTech company that enables contactless charitable payments has struggled to make a profit despite its awards and successful collaboration with organisations such as the Natural History Museum and British Red Cross.

To resolve GoodBox’s position, Frost Group Insolvency Practitioners Frost and Wadsted were appointed as joint Administrators in June 2022. A creditor drafted Part 26a scheme followed allowing for creditors to receive less than they were owed thereby allowing for the company to continue.

The Part 26a Scheme was sanctioned by the Leeds High Court on 16 January 2023, allowing for the introduction of new angel investors and a new board.

Left unanswered were how a number of costs were to be met, particularly over £170,000 of fees claimed by the Frost Group. Determining exactly how the outstanding costs of Frost Group were to be dealt with has taken a further two years.  

Unfortunately, guidance provided through the Part 26a Scheme and indeed at a lower Court proved misleading, requiring Frost Group to seek clarity utilising the leave provided in the lower Court to appeal. The resulting Judgment that Frost Group had made an application under a Rule that did not apply, was not a surprise, particularly as it confirms the true position to be the one Frost Group had been claiming from the beginning, namely that the quantum of their outstanding remuneration should be adjudicated upon under the Part 26a Scheme.  

JeremyFrost, Managing Director of Frost Group Ltd, commented:

“We are happy to have lost this appeal. Now we will proceed as anticipated to reclaim the sums due to us in line with our initial expectation. It is sad that an insolvency procedure meant to end disputes was drafted in such a way as to exacerbate them. It is of course unfortunate that we have had to pursue this course of action to get here but we are now confident that this will be the end of the litigation. 

EleanorTemple KC and Jonathan Fletcher-Wright, Counsel stated:

“We are delighted that the Court has determined the way forward and that the former administrators will obtain that which they have always sought, an assessment of their properly incurred remuneration during their time in office.”