Optical Express to Close 40 Stores

A Subsidiary of Optical Express Group is to close 40 stores after administration.

The subsidiary of the spectacles retailer had 80 functional stores open and it is believed that 40 of the 80 stores will now close and be put under the main parent group.

According to representatives within the group there will be no job losses as a result of the administration so this is a positive outcome for the employees of  the subsidiary.

For more detailed information on administration and what is involved throughout the process visit www.companydebt.com or give us a call on 08000 746 757.

Frankfurt-Based Super Club to Enter Administration

The Cocoon Club in Frankfurt Germany is to enter administration after a recent announcement that the club is having difficulties.

DJ Sven Vath thought of the idea and the club was launched back in 2004 with the intention of brining the clubbing fraternity back to Germany. The well renowned DJ remained a partner in the club.

The company is hoping to preserve the club and rescue it from insolvency via a purchase by any potential buyer in the near future.

Former Sharapova Sponsors in Administration

The previous sponsors of tennis superstar Maria Sharapova have recently gone into administration.

Prince Sports Europe Limited started some time ago in the USA as a tennis ball machine manufacturer and grew to be one of the industries leaders in manufacturing and performance. The tennis firm has recently filed for bankruptcy and administrators were appointed on the 15th of August.

Prince Sports Europe Limited backed plenty of well known tennis players such as Jennifer Capriati, Jimmy Connors, Martina Navratilova and Nikolay Davydenko.

Bloc Weekend called off as Administrators called in

Bloc Weekend has called in the administrators after having to shutdown one day into the festival, Jamie Playford of Parker Andrews was appointed administrator on 11 July 2012.

On Friday 6 July, Bloc Weekend in London, run by Baselogic Productions, was closed down due to fears of overcrowding, the administrator is still “fact finding” about what led to the closing of the event and couldn’t comment in detail until after the investigation was completed.

A statement on the event’s website read: “It is with great sadness we announce Baselogic Productions, who you all know as Bloc, has been placed into administration following the events of Friday. “The team are working hard with the administrators to investigate the issues that led to the closure of the event and people will be updated as and when we have new information.

This shows that administration can affect any company, even those which are supported by headline groups.

South London Healthcare Trust enters Administration

After weeks of speculation, South London NHS Healthcare Trust has entered administration after running up substantial debts.

South London NHS Healthcare Trust was the result of a merger of The Princess Royal hospital in Orpington, the Queen Mary hospital in Sidcup, and the Queen Elizabeth hospital in Woolwich. At this time, deficit was about £21 million. In 2011, this rose to £40 million.

Despite having one of the lowest mortality and infection rates in the country, and massive improvements in the quality of care, the financial challenge facing the trust is significant. A trust spokesperson said the hospitals will continue to provide first class care and there will be no impact on scheduled appointments.

Small Business Owners Risk Personal Insolvency

Small business owners tend to risk Personal Insolvency as a consequence of business failure.

Many owners of small companies invest their own money in their business, borrow in their own name (rather than the name of the business) in order to fund the Company or take out a second mortgage.  Draw on personal credit cards to help support the business.

It is important to obtain appropriate advice. There are many routes to structure the Company debts by way of formal insolvency for the Company such as Liquidation, Administration, Company Voluntary Arrangement. At the same time personal indebtedness can be structured by way of Bankruptcy, Individual Voluntary Arrangement.

Jacobs Cameras Closing Some Stores to Become More Attractive to Potential Buyers

PFF Accountants are managing the administration of Cecil Jacobs and they have confirmed that they are to close several stores in some key areas to help make the business more attractive to potential buyers. some of the areas in which the stores are closing are Birmingham, London, Derby, Hull, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Liverpool and Sheffield.

Around 46 staff are unfortunately heading for redundancy due to the insolvency proceedings, however, this is considered necessary according to the insolvency practitioners if the business is to be sold.

A representative at the insolvency practitioners firm said "These measures are painful for everyone involved, but they are essential if we are to have a reasonable prospect of finding a buyer for the business as a going concern - although we recognise that there are likely to be more challenges ahead".

The camera company has already had a number of potential acquirers who have expressed their interest and are now in a position to start negotiating. It looks likely that Cecil Jacobs is set to avoid liquidation if it can help it.

Insolvency Service drops case to have Farepak directors disqualified

The Insolvency service have abandoned the high court case to take Farepak’s former bosses banned from being company directors.

Farepak, the monthly money saving company, collapsed in 2006 leaving around 116,000 customer out of pocket.

Last month, the insolvency service had taken the case to court to attempt to get the former directors banned from being appointed as company directors in the future.

The Swindon based firm collected money from it’s customers every month, with a view to them being able to purchase food hampers or high street vouchers in time for Christmas.

After one of Farepaks rivals went into administration, suppliers demanded upfront payments rather than the previously agreed credit arrangements, something Farepak were not able to provide. The firm had also built up debts from previous unsuccessful acquisitions.

The former directors named in the High Court case were Stevan Fowler, Neil Gillis, Nicholas Gilodi-Johnson, Stephen Hicks, Michael Johns, Paul Munn, Joanne Ponting, William Rollason and Sir Clive Thompson.

Lawyers for the Insolvency Service said that Farepak had traded at "unreasonable risk".

Lawyers for the former directors, named as Stevan Fowler, neil Gillis, Nicholas Gioldi-Johnson, Stephen Hicks, Michael Johns, Paul Munn, Joanne Ponting, William Rollason and Sir Clive Thompson, however, said that the Insolvency Services evidence “singulary failed’ to establish a case for their disqualification.

Rangers Football Club CVA Proposal refused by HMRC

Rangers Football club had offered those owed money a reduced payment deal via a Company Voluntary Arrangement, funded by an £8.5m loan from a consortium led by Charles Green. Administrators Duff and Phelps confirmed on Tuesday they now expect HMRC to refuse the proposal at a vote on Thursday afternoon.

Mr. Green said: he was “hugely disappointed” by the rejection of the CVA proposals by HMRC, whose debt currently stands at around £21m in unpaid VAT and PAYE.

Rangers are currently awaiting an outcome to the First Tier Tribunal in a case over the illegal use of an employee benefits trust to pay players and staff between 2001 and 2010 that could result in the club being served with a tax bill of approximately £75m.

HMRC had previously agreed with Duff and Phelps to appoint neutral insolvency firm should Rangers have to be liquidated. This came after the administrators had asked creditors to appoint them as liquidators should the CVA fail.

Insolvency Expert to help Pompey fans Take over bid

Antony Fanshawe, insolvency expert at Begbies Traynor, is hoped to be able to seal the deal for fans of Pompey to take over the club. He will use his 30yrs of experience in the insolvency industry to pull together the strands to form a successful bid for the Pompey Supporters Trust, along with the administrator Trevor Birch.

According to the trust, talks are continuing with 5 ‘high net worth individuals’, all lifelong Pompey supporters. Mr Fanshawe has appealed to fans and businesses in Portsmouth to get behind the bid.

Mr Fanshawe is said to be delighted to be involved with the bid and is keen to help the trust see what they can do.

Antony Fanshawe qualified as a chartered accountant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers in 1980. He set up ‘Fanshawe Lofts’ in 1990 – a corporate finance and recovery business in the South of the country, which later merged with Begbies Traynor in 2008.

Meanwhile, Pomey’s former owner, Balram Chainrai, is looking to reveal CVA proposals in the next few days.

Pompey exiting administration through this method would mean avoiding points penalties next season.

Law Giant enters administration following demise in US

Law giant Dewey & LeBoeuf has put its UK operations into administration following their bankruptcy in the US.

Most of the UK branches staff have been left without jobs, save for a small team assisting with the administration. Shay Bannon and Mark Shaw of BDO have been appointed joint administrators.

The law firm operated its UK LLP from its offices in Paris and London, and is to closed down in a controlled way, safe guarding client interests and files, whilst maximising the return to creditors of both Dewey LeBoeuf’s UK LLP and sister company Dewey & LeBoeuf Services Ltd.

Troubles experienced in the US are blamed on the continued economic downturn leading to insufficient cash to cover expenses. Around 300 of the partners also left to pursue opportunities in rival firms, due to uncertainty surrounding compensation and substantial debts of between $100 million and $500 million.

Quarter 3 Company Administrations Up:

The amount of administrations carried out for limited companies is on the rise according to the London Gazette this week with an increase of 7.8 per cent. Cases in London remained the same as last quarter and the North East has seen the largest change in percentage with a 46.2 per cent increase. The Midlands saw a rise of 24.7 per cent.

Statistics from the London Gazette suggest the construction industry were the hit the hardest out of all the sectors. The retail industry and the services industry followed not far behind.

Other sectors included during the last quarter are 50 property companies, 67 from manufacturing, 60 from leisure and hospitality, 26 from healthcare and 55 from the Telecoms, media and technology industry. 

Company Administration can be a viable solution depending on the insolvency situation involved. If you would like to know more about administration or other insolvency solutions available contact us on 08000 747 757.

First Quartile Limited Complete Pre-Pack Administration:

A marketing company (First Quartile Limited) to brands such as JP Morgan, AXA & Prudential has finished a Pre-Pack Administration and is to be sold to a London-based agency.

MacIntyre Hudson were appointed as Administrators earlier this month.

A Pre-Pack Administration can be a much cleaner process as it gets rid of the retrospective liabilities attached to the legal entity, allowing for a clean start going forward.

To find out more about insolvency solutions and some of the services available to your company contact us.