Quindell Plc announces temporary suspension of trading in its shares

Quindell Plc, which has offices in Fareham, United Kingdom and Toronto and whose subsidiaries include ingenie and iter8, announced on Wednesday that it has requested the temporary suspension of trading in its shares from AIM, the London stock exchange.

The U.K.’s financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, confirmed on Wednesday that it has commenced an investigation into Quindell Plc under the Financial Services and Markets Act “in relation to public statements made regarding Quindell’s financial accounts during 2013 and 2014.”

Quindell said that it “will co-operate fully with the investigation.”

The announcement came less than a month after Quindell completed the disposal of the group’s Professional Service Division (PSD) and confirmed that PwC was reviewing certain group accounting policies. The company added on Wednesday that it has been conducting its own review and audit of its 2014 financial statements.

As the PSD will be treated as a “discontinued operation” in the 2014 financial statements and subsequent periods, the changes to the group’s accounting policies are “largely of historical interest only,” the statement said, adding that the changes will “be to adopt a more conservative and appropriate approach to the recognition of revenues and profits in the PSD.” The impact of these changes will materially impact previously reported results for the year ending Dec. 31, 2013 and the six months ending June 30 2014.

“The company also confirmed that it had identified that certain of the accounting policies historically adopted by the company, in respect of recognizing revenue and deferring case acquisition costs in a number of the group’s disposed of businesses, were largely acceptable but were at the aggressive end of acceptable practice,” Quindell said in the statement. “PwC also identified that certain policies were not appropriate, principally those relating to the noise induced hearing loss cases revenue and related balances that became significant during 2014.”

Quindell’s board has also commenced a review, along with its auditors, of a number of the company’s historic transactions and acquisitions. “This work is ongoing, but the company expects that it will shortly be in a position to announce additional information,” the statement said.

The company expects share trading to resume “as soon as practicable and no later than publication of the group’s 2014 financial statements.”