News

CAPA to audit grand London cafés, as latest dining chain collapses

The administrators of a restaurant chain have instructed CAPA to conduct a property audit on the company’s prime central London locations.

Martha Thompson and Sarah Rayment, of the accountancy and advisory firm BDO, were appointed administrators of Villandry Foodstore Restaurant Ltd in August 2018.

The dining chain had endured similar financial problems to those impacting other restaurant businesses around the country – particularly rising rents across its sites.

In 2017 the group, which had been serving customers for 20 years, saw rent at its Great Portland Street property, which sits near Regents Park and Marylebone in central London, double. The rent at its St James’s restaurant, located near Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus, also increased 16% during the same year.

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Jamie Oliver instructs CAPA on 60 properties

The Jamie Oliver Group has instructed CAPA to conduct a property and accounts payable audit on 60 stores and restaurants across the chain.

The Jamie’s Italian chain entered a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in the beginning of 2018, led by business recovery and turnaround specialists AlixPartners, to reshape the business.

The CVA secured the backing of creditors to cut rent costs across the outlets and restructure some rent bills to be paid monthly rather than quarterly. Closures of 12 sites were included in the wider restructuring plan.

Like other casual dining chains, the business had been affected by rents, rates, the decline of the high street, food costs and the minimum wage.

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CAPA called in as menswear retailer survives

CAPA is now auditing 68 properties at a menswear chain that became one of the first casualties in a tumultuous year for retailers.

With roots dating back to 1860, Greenwoods Menswear is a retailer of formal and casual menswear, including shoes and accessories, which recently boasted a turnover of around £20m. It also offers a formal suit hire service, under the company’s 1860 brand.

The company had operated from 63 stores and two concessions throughout the UK, with its head office and warehouse located in Bradford, west Yorkshire. Until late 2017 the company also employed over 300 staff.

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CAPA called in as RSM saves jobs at bakery chain

CAPA is seeking to recover cash for the creditors of a long-standing family bakery business, after high street pressures forced the firm to put its retail business into liquidation.

Aulds, which traded from 26 sites around Scotland, is one of the largest independent bakery group’s in the country, having grown since its inception in 1900.

But in August 2018 the group placed its retail arm, Thomas Auld & Sons Limited, into liquidation as part of a wider group turnaround plan. Paul Dounis and Steve Ross of RSM Restructuring Advisory were appointed joint liquidators of the retail business on August 2.

Pressure from high street and supermarket competition, as well as increasing ingredient, distribution and wage costs, dragged the group’s retail business into an unsustainable loss-making position.

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CAPA to audit over 850 Carillion sites

The liquidators of Carillion, the construction giant that collapsed with a debt pile of around £1.5bn, have instructed CAPA to audit 854 properties across the business.

Carillion entered compulsory liquidation in January 2018, after a period in which its revenue fell by over £2.4bn in less than two years.

When the company needed a substantial cash injection at the start of 2018, the board was unable to raise new capital from its banks – which had already given Carillion more time to repay its loans. Its financial predicament left the business with no option but liquidation.

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CAPA called in after pre-pack saves 50 jobs

The administrators of a motor repair chain, who rescued the business via a pre-pack deal, have instructed CAPA to conduct a property audit across the firm’s national sites.

Concorde Tyre & Exhaust Centres, whose head office was in Northampton, had been providing motor vehicle parts and repair services since 2011. Its turnover had risen from £211,000 to over £5.5m in less than five years and customer numbers had reached 160,000.

But after the company expanded, it encountered severe cashflow difficulties, along with rising costs due to leased equipment and rent reviews.

Following mounting pressure from creditors, Steven Parker and Trevor Binyon of Opus Restructuring were called upon to help secure the company’s future.

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CAPA called in after electrical supplier pulls plug

The liquidator of Mains Home Electrical Centres, a retailer of electrical white goods for more than 30 years, has called in CAPA to conduct a full property audit.

Based in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, Mains Home Electrical Centres first opened in February 1988 and had become a successful retailer in its local area.

However, in recent years the business had suffered pressures related to changing consumer habits, the move to online shopping and poor trading during the Christmas period of 2017. Earlier in 2018, adverse weather brought on by the ‘beast from the east’ also impacted sales.

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CAPA instructed on latest casualty of high street woes

The administrators of a store sign designer have instructed CAPA to conduct a full property audit on the business, after the problems engulfing UK retailers claimed another casualty.

SP Group, an employer of more than 350 staff that creates store front displays and shop signs, was placed into administration in July 2018, four months after it had been purchased by its current owner – the investment company SelmerBridge. SelmerBridge is an investment vehicle set up by French former investment banker Landry Kouakou.

Based in Redditch, SP Group had suffered from a significant decline in turnover following the loss of key customer contracts in the autumn of 2018, along with a further decline in customer support since the business was acquired in March 2018.

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CAPA to audit 200 sites at Bargain Booze after rescue deal

CAPA has been appointed to carry out a full property audit at Bargain Booze Ltd, a chain of over 450 off-licences where thousands of jobs have been saved in a rescue deal.

Along with the wine and spirits retailer Wine Rack, Bargain Booze was part of a collective retail business owned by a parent company, Conviviality Plc, which entered insolvency on April 5 2018.

Matthew Callaghan, Ian Green and David Baxendale of PwC, were appointed as administrators of Conviviality on April 5 2018, and a day later, as administrators of Bargain Booze.

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New TRI news website

CAPA are delighted to be a launch partner of the new TRI news website formerly I&R news. 

Check out their new website here >>  https://bit.ly/2PhTSlo 

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