Creditors left with almost no money after the disintegration of the European arm of Lehman Brothers may possibly claim a share of £7.3billion cash, if they consent a plan that has been drawn up by managers of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The corporation, called in to contract with the spider's web of dealings when Lehman's European business went under in 2008, said yesterday that non-secured creditors could be given their money prior, if they were ready to agree to lower pay-outs.

Steven Pearson, Joint Administrator, said he was expecting to see that the creditors would be in agreement with a consensual approach, which would save years of additional composite untangling.

The £7.3bn pot of cash is a representation of around half of the unsecured claims, which PwC approximates between $18bn, £12bn and $22bn.

Pearson said that the consensual approach is completely reliant upon the enthusiasm of the overpowering majority of monetary trading counter groups to support the procedure.

If an accord is reached, it would mark the third conclusion that PwC has made ever since it walked all the way through the doors of Lehman's European head office in Canary Wharf, in September 2008. Altogether, the administrators have had to cope with $48.6bn of assets.