News

KPMG appoints CAPA on latest casualty of Monarch group

The administrators of an aircraft engineering firm, which was part of the collapsed Monarch Airlines Group, have appointed CAPA to audit the company.

As administrators of Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited (MAEL), the engineering arm of the Monarch group, KPMG has now appointed CAPA to audit business rates paid out at all the vast aircraft hangars used by MAEL.

The company provided engineering maintenance services from hangars at London Luton Airport and Birmingham Airport. MAEL also ran a training academy, sold aircraft spare parts and provided day-to-day services at other UK airports along with four more in Spain, Poland and the Ukraine.

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CAPA sponsors children’s hospital charity golf day 2019

Capa were delighted to be Gold Sponsor of The 26th Annual Philip and Bernice Frieze Charity Golf Tournament which took place on Monday, July 15, 2019 at the Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth, MA. The tournament benefits The Philip and Bernice Frieze Fund at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Since it began in 1994, the tournament has raised over $4.3 million with $500,000 raised at this years tournament. The event was founded by and is organized by employees of Gordon Brothers in the name of the company’s former CEO, Philip Frieze, who passed away in 1993. More information about the event can be found here https://t.co/MKSU0vVde0

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CAPA instructed on former Threshers and Hartley's chain of stores

The liquidators of an off-licence chain with stores around Britain have instructed CAPA to conduct a full property audit on all sites the firm ever occupied.

M&O Trading, which at its peak had more than 180 employees, posted £25m in annual turnover and traded from 45 stores nationwide, entered liquidation in the early part of 2019.

The company, whose stores had traded for many years under the brands Hartley’s, Mulberrys, The Offie and Easy Hours, had previously acquired a network of former Threshers stores in around 2010, after the former off licence chain entered administration.

But M&O Trading later entered financial difficulty itself and ultimately, after several stores closed down, the business entered insolvency. William Batty and Hugh Jesseman, of the insolvency and restructuring firm Anthony Batty & Company, were appointed liquidators in January 2019. Stephen Evans, a colleague and insolvency practitioner at Anthony Batty & Company, was later added as a liquidator in June 2019.

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CAPA instructed on luxury chocolatier with Belgravia and Chelsea stores

The administrators of a luxury chocolate brand with high-end sites across central London have appointed CAPA to audit the retailer’s stores.

BDO has appointed CAPA to audit the head office and five confectioneries run by Rococo, which has been selling luxury chocolate goods on affluent London high streets since 1983.

Like many other retail brands, Rococo has been suffering difficult trading conditions which had impacted its working capital position.

The directors decided an administration was required to provide a stable financial platform to rescue the company. Kerry Bailey and Danny Dartnaill, of the business restructuring division of BDO, were appointed administrators of Rococo on May 23. They are now looking for a buyer of the business.

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CAPA close to securing 30% rent cut for American Golf

The Property team at CAPA is fast approaching a 30% rent saving for American Golf, the specialist sports retailer, after negotiating with landlords to agree new lease terms.

The team have also secured shorter, more palatable leases, and are 90% of the way through transferring 120 stores from the previous company, which is in administration, to the new company owned by turnaround investor Endless.

CAPA was initially retained by Endless to negotiate with American Golf’s landlords in 2018, after Endless purchased the retailer from administrators at Deloitte.

The retailer’s estate comprises a mixture of on-course stores, retail park locations and standalone A-road sites.

CAPA has also recently been negotiating with landlords of properties occupied by other household-name retailers, such as Karen Millen, Go Mobile and Crabtree & Evelyn, to secure new lease terms.

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CAPA terminates leases for Crabtree & Evelyn

CAPA has successfully terminated all 14 UK leases held by Crabtree & Evelyn, the luxury bath products retailer, after agreeing landlord surrenders.

Consensual negotiations were held between CAPA’s Property team and the likes of Land Securities, Aviva, Grosvenor and British Land over three months.

The average surrender penalty payment was lower than 12 months’ rent and included arrears, dilapidations and landlord’s professional/legal costs. Throughout 2019, Crabtree & Evelyn has been closing stores in the UK as it moves online.

CAPA has also secured consensual exits on leases for many other household-name retailers, including Karen Millen and Go Mobile.

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CAPA on road to rent savings for Go Mobile

CAPA is accelerating negotiations with landlords of properties occupied by Go Mobile, the smartphone retailer, to rebase rents and secure consensual exits on leases.

CAPA’s Property team is now on track to agree consensual exits on 20 leases and a rebase of rents on a further 32 across the estate.

To date, the average surrender penalty paid to landlords has been three months’ rent, which includes dilapidations and landlords’ costs.

CAPA has also secured consensual exits on leases, critical rent savings and new lease terms, for many other retailers with large estates including Karen Millen and Crabtree & Evelyn.

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CAPA cuts rent on Karen Millen stores to zero

CAPA has completed a range of transactions for women’s fashion operator Karen Millen across 15 of the company’s sites.

The deals and agreements secured by CAPA’s Property team include lease exits, long term regears and shorter, more flexible leases.

The team negotiated with landlords whose property locations included Glasgow, Guildford, Highcross in Leicester, Liverpool One, Meadowhall in Sheffield and West Quay in Southampton. In several cases, CAPA secured agreements to rebase store rents to zero.

In 2017, CAPA’s Property team were initially appointed to dispose of surplus stores and renegotiate leases on stores run by Karen Millen.

Many other household-name retailers, such as Crabtree & Evelyn and Go Mobile, have benefited from rent savings and consensual lease exits, after calling in CAPA to negotiate with landlords.

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CAPA instructed on digital design agency

The liquidators of a design agency, whose client base spanned the NHS and Michelin-starred restaurants, have instructed CAPA to help boost recoveries for creditors.

CAPA will be auditing rates paid out at all properties across Visualize Ltd, based in Leyland, Lancashire, after the company entered liquidation in May. The agency had been one of the country’s leading providers of digital signage, TV commercial and social media marketing services.

Visualize’s clients included national leisure centres, grand theatres and fine dining restaurants, but the business had suffered significant financial problems in the past two years, with debts accruing in 2017 and 2018, while profits declined.

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Jamie’s Italian administrators appoint CAPA

The administrators of Jamie Oliver’s restaurant empire have instructed CAPA to audit properties across the chain, as they seek to recover funds for creditors.

CAPA will undertake an accounts payable and property audit of 26 sites, including Jamie’s Italian eateries, after the group succumbed to the severe trading conditions now hitting the UK’s casual dining market.

The Jamie Oliver Restaurant Group employed around 1,300 staff with 25 outlets around the UK, including 22 under the Jamie’s Italian brand, along with Jamie Oliver’s Diner at Gatwick Airport, plus Barbecoa and Fifteen in London.

The group had recently secured additional investment and since the beginning of 2019, Jamie Oliver had provided another £4m to support the business.

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