KPMG administrators sell Blacks Leisure to JD Sports in pre-pack
KPMG administrators arrange pre-pack sale of Blacks Leisure to JD Sports saving 3,500 jobs
KPMG ADMINISTRATORS have sold Blacks Leisure to JD Sports as part of a pre-pack administration.
Brian Green, Richard Fleming and David Costley-Wood of KPMG were appointed joint administrators to Blacks Leisure today.
On appointment they sold the business to former competitor JD Sports which acquired all assets including, 302 stores operating under Blacks and Millets brands and 3,500 staff. There has been no redundancies.
A pre-pack administration entails the whole or part of a sale arranged prior to a business entering an insolvency process and sold immediately on appointment of administrators.
Fleming, partner and UK head of restructuring at KPMG, said: “Today’s sale allows the continued trading of all the shops. A sale via ‘pre-pack’ administration was required to rescue as much of the business as possible.
“Blacks has struggled, in tough economic conditions, to generate enough cash to service its high overhead costs. However, Blacks has a strong brand and accordingly generated a huge amount of buyer interest from some of the best known entrepreneurs and competitors in the market.”
