The administrators who rescued one of Britain’s largest privately-owned retailers - which has been trading for more than 50 years - have instructed CAPA to audit 300 sites the business occupied.
Administrators at Deloitte have appointed CAPA to undertake full property and accounts payable audits of M&Co, a family fashion business that has been trading since the 1960s and was recently saved from collapse.
With headquarters in Renfrewshire, Scotland, M&Co had traded from more than 260 stores at its peak under its previous name, Mackays.
But in common with other retailers in 2020, the business had been trading in severe conditions even before the pandemic, and the subsequent lockdown exacerbated problems to the extent the owners had no option but to place it into administration.
Gavin Park and Michael Magnay of Deloitte were appointed administrators in August 2020 but they were able to sell the business immediately to M&Co, a business connected to the family owners. The pre-pack administration safeguarded the jobs of 2,600 staff.
After taking a vast instruction from Deloitte’s Glasgow office, CAPA’s audit team will now use bespoke software to conduct a forensic analysis of all property costs across 299 sites the retailer traded from, around the UK.
The team will inspect information on costs such as utility bills and service charge management expenses, to discover if any ‘overspend’ can be recovered on a no-win no-fee basis.
CAPA will also inspect all invoice data through the entire Mackays business, to see where any further overpayments can be recouped.
