Gourmet Burger Kitchen earmarks 17 restaurants for closure as it enters company voluntary agreement October 24, 2018 Famous Brands, the South Africa-based owner of Gourmet Burger Kitchen, has announced the restaurant chain will initiate a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) amid financial woes. The company said it has 17 restaurants earmarked for potential closure, affecting 250 jobs. The company would not comment on which locations may be closed. It will hold a meeting with creditors [...]
Claire’s weighing up store closures amid retail woes October 15, 2018 Fashion accessory retailer Claire’s has tonight strongly denied reports that it is mulling store closures as part of a turnaround bid to revive the firm. The high street retailer’s boss said this evening that there were no plans to trigger an insolvency process – known as a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) – despite earlier reports that [...]
Toy maker Hamleys blames Brexit, terrorism and rising retail costs for £9m loss October 12, 2018 The UK's oldest toy store Hamleys revealed a record loss today with profits dropping a staggering 500 per cent over the past 12 months. The iconic toy-maker blamed Brexit, macroeconomic factors and the threat of terrorism for the downturn in its fortunes. The retailer announced a £9.2m loss for the year to 31 December 2017, having made a £1.7m profit [...]
Legal & General completes £2.4bn buy-out of folded telco’s pension scheme October 8, 2018 Insurer Legal & General has today finalised a £2.4bn buyout of the Nortel Networks UK Pension Plan, nearly a decade after its telecommunications sponsor collapsed, forcing it into the lifeboat. The deal will see the benefits of 15,500 pensioner members and 7,200 deferred members protected. It is the UK's joint second largest ever pensions buyout, matched [...]
House of Fraser partner threatens legal action over store’s debt against administrators EY October 8, 2018 A House of Fraser concession partner is considering legal action against the company’s administrator EY, claiming its classification of his business will cost him hundreds of thousands of pounds. Ehab Shouly, who runs three tea rooms in House of Fraser stores, says he is owed over £300,000 from the company – the equivalent of two [...]
Former House of Fraser directors dismissed amid calls for an investigation October 1, 2018 The former directors and senior management of House of Fraser have been dismissed following the department store's collapse. Sports Direct, which bought the beleaguered high street chain for £90m in August, announced that it has sacked the former top team amid calls for an investigation into the company's spiral into administration. Read more: Mike Ashley blames landlords [...]
Too little too late – why the Debenhams rebrand is a frivolous deckchair rearrangement October 1, 2018 According to the press stories that announced a rebrand of Debenhams at the beginning of September, the objective of the exercise was to put “joy” back into the brand. Six days later, the company announced that it was calling in KPMG to help it restructure, which doesn’t sound too joyful. It’s quite farcical really. [...]
Mitie sheds pest control business amid efforts to restructure October 1, 2018 Outsourcing group Mitie revealed plans to offload its £40m pest control business this morning, as it ramps up efforts to restructure the business in the wake of several profit warnings. The FTSE 250 firm said it would sell its pest control arm to business services giant Rentokil Initial as it seeks to plough more of [...]
More construction firms are entering insolvency since Carillion’s collapse October 1, 2018 The number of construction firms entering insolvency has jumped six per cent following the collapse of Carillion. The construction giant's liquidation caused knock-on effects for the whole industry supply chain in the UK, top 10 accountancy firm Moore Stephens said. Read more: Carillion redundancy payouts to hit £65m Figures from the government's insolvency services showed [...]
Business secretary Greg Clark orders competition watchdog to carry out review of audit sector September 29, 2018 Business secretary Greg Clark has ordered the competition watchdog to carry out a sweeping review of the UK's audit sector. In a year when the Big Four audit firms have been hit by numerous scandals, Clark has told Andrew Tyrie, head of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to carry out the review into competition in [...]