Deloitte sued for £20m over collapse of storage firm August 11, 2019 A Yorkshire-based businessman is suing big four accountant Deloitte and international law firm Clyde & Co over allegations that Barclays bank exerted “informal control” over the financial giants during the winding down of his firm. Jason Schofield, a businessman who ran Leeds’ based storage firm Rhino Enterprises, is suing two joint administrators at Deloitte and [...]
Office set to close up to half its 100 UK stores August 9, 2019 Shoe retailer Office is planning to close up to half of UK stores at it reckons with the decline of business on the high street. The footwear chain is working on plans to close dozens of its 100 stores as their leases expire during the next few years, according to a report by Sky News. [...]
Listed litigation funders scramble to avoid Burford contagion August 8, 2019 Listed litigation funders have distanced themselves from Burford Capital today, after a short seller attack yesterday sent Burford’s shares on a rollercoaster ride. Manolete Partners and Litigation Capital Management (LCM) today pointed out how their models differ to Burford’s after their shares fell steeply yesterday in reaction to the short-seller attack on Burford. Activist Muddy [...]
Philip Day tables bid to avoid Jack Wills administration August 5, 2019 British billionaire Philip Day is taking on rival bidder Mike Ashley to keep struggling retailer Jack Wills out of administration. Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group’s (EWM) offer for the “preppy” fashion brand would seek to avoid a pre-pack administration, it was revealed as the bidding war between the two retail tycoons entered its final hours. [...]
Laterooms collapses after failure to sell business August 1, 2019 Holiday bookings site Laterooms has collapsed into insolvency after its parent company Malvern Group ran out of cash before it could secure a sale. Last month Malvern appointed KPMG to undertake an accelerated sales process after Cox & Kings India, which owned a 49 per cent stake in Malvern, defaulted on loan repayments. The default [...]
Intu share price fall continues after dividend cancellation August 1, 2019 Shares in retail landlord Intu continued to fall this morning after the Trafford Centre owner yesterday cancelled its dividend as it fell to a £900m loss. Intu’s share price was down as much as 6.7 per cent at 44.6p this morning before recovering slightly to 45.45p. Read more: Intu share price crashes at it cancels [...]
Number of UK firms in ‘significant distress’ rises July 30, 2019 The number of UK businesses facing “significant distress” has increased as consumer spending slumps due to ongoing uncertainty. In total, 14 per cent of all UK businesses – 484,000 – said they were experiencing significant distress at the end of June, with the leisure and retail industries hit the hardest. Read more: Consumer spending to [...]
Primark demands rent cuts after rivals secure insolvency boost July 28, 2019 Primark is said to be demanding rent cuts on dozens of stores as it looks to keep up with struggling rivals that have cut costs through insolvency procedures. The fashion chain is asking landlords to slash rent by 30 per cent on stores where the leases have several years remaining, and is offering lease extensions [...]
Fewer firms are going bust despite high profile collapses July 22, 2019 Fewer companies went bust in England and Wales in the second quarter than in the first three months of 2019, according to professional services firm KPMG, despite a handful of high profile business collapses. Read more: Jamie’s Italian to slim down with restaurant closures The number of firms going into administration fell by 14 per [...]
London law firm Mishcon de Reya to explore IPO option July 20, 2019 London law firm Mishcon de Reya has begun preparations for a flotation or stake sale valuing the firm at several hundred million pounds, according to Sky News. Mishcon is looking to hire bankers in the coming months to explore its options, although any formal decisions about raising capital are yet to be made. Read more: [...]