Within days BSA discovered Airco was in a far more serious financial state than Thomas had revealed. Thomas was immediately removed from his new seat on the BSA board and all BSA's new acquisitions were placed in liquidation. As a result of the financial situation that it inherited, BSA was unable to issue a dividend to shareholders for the following four years. With help from Thomas, de Havilland bought the group's assets he needed to form the de Havilland Aircraft Company during 1920.