Whittard and Officers Club sold in pre-packs
Struggling retailers enter administration then are immediately sold on
Two major high street chains entered administration and then were imediately
sold to new owners.
Long-standing tea and coffee cup business Whittard and clothing retailer The
Officers Club found new owners immediately after entering administration, in
what is known as a ‘pre-pack’ arrangement.
Administrators from Ernst & Young sold Whittard to private equity firm
Epic, with no loss of jobs currently planned from the 130 strong store chain.
PricewaterhouseCoopers administrators sold 118 of the 150 Officers Club
stores to current chief executive David Charlton. The other stores have been
closed.
Pre-packs occur when a deal is agreed prior to entering administration to
sell the business as soon as it enters the insolvency proceeding.
The process can clear some of the debts for the new owner, and can be
controversial as creditors question whether the best deal has been struck for
them.
Further reading:
Read
the Telegraph’s story on the deals
15 major retailers could go bust
after Xmas
