AstraZeneca demands £19m in continued wrangle over Bristol site

AstraZeneca is claiming £19m in damages after the collapse of its former pharmaceuticals site near Bristol under a contract manufacturing company. David Rubin & Partners was appointed administrator of the Avlon site in February 2019, about two years after AstraZeneca had sold it to Avara, owned by Leonard Levie, a former Lehman Brothers banker-turned-industrial investor, for £1. The Avara subsidiary behind the site is being liquidated after a protracted sale a year ago to EDC, a Canadian property company, for about £18.5m. The liquidator’s report by David Rubin & Partners reveals a “significant claim” from AstraZeneca, an unsecured creditor, for a total of £19.1m. Of the £39.6m total estimated claims, £7.3m, or 18.31p in the pound, is set to be paid. It includes an estimated £3.5m to AstraZeneca. The Times (£)