BHS is back September 25, 2016 The British high street stalwart BHS is back, as new investors emerge with a refreshed online incarnation of the retailer which spectacularly slid into administration earlier this year. BHS will return with a new website, BHS.com, after Qatari business group Al Mana Group snapped up BHS' 70 overseas stores and the website in June. Read more: Insolvency Service quizzed Chappell consultants over £1 BHS purchase It's now [...]
Insolvency Service quizzed Chappell consultants over £1 BHS purchase September 11, 2016 The Insolvency Service has questioned two consultants who advised former bankrupt racing driver Dominic Chappell over the purchase of BHS. Stephen Bourne and Mark Tasker worked with Chappell ahead of him buying the loss-making chain for £1 from retail tycoon Philip Green. Bourne and Tasker were paid £387,500 each for advising Chappell’s Retail Acquisitions according to [...]
National living wage pushes nurseries towards insolvency August 30, 2016 The national living wage has contributed to almost doubled the number of school nurseries falling into insolvency in the last year according to research released today. Accountancy firm Moore Stephens said that 29 nurseries had become insolvent in the year to March 2016, compared to 16 the year before. “The introduction of the national living wage has [...]
Small businesses lost £6bn last year from not chasing bad debts August 24, 2016 Success is hard enough for Britain's small businesses but new research indicates that they are losing billions of pounds each year by writing-off unpaid debts. During the 2015/16 financial year small and medium sized enterprises wrote-off £5.8bn of bad debts according to data prepared by Direct Line. This against a backdrop where separate research by Fintech firm [...]
FRP Advisory set to be appointed BHS liquidators – ousting Duff & Phelps August 16, 2016 FRP Advisory are set to be appointed as liquidators of the BHS empire, City A.M. understands – ousting Duff & Phelps from the role. Duff & Phelps have recommended to creditors that BHS be moved into liquidation – and suggested they take on the job – but it has emerged they have been pushed out [...]
More or less? What needs to be done to get control of Britain’s pension scheme deficits August 7, 2016 Even before last Thursday’s interest rate cut, pension deficits were at record levels with the total gap between assets and liabilities for Britain’s companies estimated at a mind-boggling £390bn. The rate cut exerted further downward pressure on gilt yields – a key determinant in pension liability valuations – meaning that the gap is likely to grow further. [...]
Frank Field has met with the director of the Serious Fraud Office to talk about BHS August 5, 2016 Frank Field, chair of the Work and Pensions Committee, has met with the director of the Serious Fraud Office to discuss the ongoing investigation into BHS and Sir Philip Green. Field said the discussion with the SFO's director David Green came about because of concerns surrounding assurances made about Retail Acquisitions (RAL), the company majority-owned by [...]
The state of Europe’s banks is far from steady August 1, 2016 Bank investors rejoice! The European Banking Authority (EBA) has declared stress tests should no longer be about pushing fresh capital into the system or drilling down into asset quality. No. The good news is that “steady-state monitoring” is what’s needed. So will this provide the assurance investors need? I’m not convinced. Even if stock prices [...]
Legislators must not be fooled by the latest insolvency figures July 29, 2016 The latest insolvency statistics released yesterday by the Insolvency Service paint a positive picture for UK businesses, renewing hopes that struggling firms can gain access to the help they need. However, business owners and legislators must look beyond the figures and act now to prepare for future market shocks. In the second quarter of 2016, the total [...]
Classic British marque Bristol Cars has just unveiled the Bristol Bullet – its first vehicle in more than a decade July 28, 2016 Bristol Cars may be best known for its sleek classic numbers, but the iconic British car marque has just unveiled its latest sporty little runaround – and it's bang up to date. The £250,000 Bristol Bullet, the 70-year-old brand's first car since it was rescued from insolvency five years ago, was inspired by a speedster which [...]