Kwik Save hit by dramatic rise in CCJs in last few months

Kwik Save creditors issued over £1m in County Court judgments against the struggling retailer since January, Accountancy Age can reveal

Written by Kevin Reed

Accountancy Age, 30 May 2007

Kwik Save has suffered a dramatic increase in the number of County Court judgments issued against it by creditors in the last few months, Accountancy Age can reveal.

The company, which announced it will shut a third of its stores to try and save the business, saw 36 CCJs entered against the company since 23 January, to the value of £1.2m.

But the retailer had no CCJs issued against it in the previous 12 months.

Since chief executive Paul Niklas announced a £50m injection into Kwik Save in March, the company continued to have CCJs issued against it. Following Niklas' announcement, 14 CCJs were issued, to the value of £494,000.

The figures underline the financial difficulties faced by the retailer in the past few months.

One CCJ, issued at Redditch County Court, was to the value of £134,304.

In comparison Tesco had 11 CCJs issued against it during the last 18 months, to the value of £63,000, figures from credit rating agency Graydon revealed.

'If Kwik Save has had a £50m rescue package recently I can't see it,' said Graydon MD Martin Williams.

Kwik Save would not comment on the figures.