Deloitte administrators close remaining Modelzone stores
Administrators close all 47 stores and make 340 staff redundant, however, they manage to sell subsidiary saving 18 jobs
DELOITTE ADMINISTRATORS are to close the remaining Modelzone stores making 126 staff redundant after they were unable to find a buyer.
Richard Hawes, Nick Edwards and Rob Harding, partners at Deloitte, were appointed joint administrators to Modelzone Holdings (Modelzone) and certain of its subsidiaries, including Amerang on 26 June.
At the time of their appointment, Modelzone, headquartered in West Sussex, had 358 employees across 47 stores and its head office.
Although the model craft business was profitable, the company entered into new leases for stores that proved loss making in recent years with the board having to call in the administrators.
The Deloitte administrators said they had sought buyers but no viable offers have been made. Unfortunately 340 staff were made redundant with the last store closures to be made by mid-September.
The subsidiary Amerang, a wholesaler of toy and hobby trade products, was sold as a going concern in July to former rival Ripmax.
Hawes said: “We sought to find a potential buyer for some or all of the stores, but unfortunately no viable offers have come in since our appointment two months ago.
“Modelzone has been generating losses over the past few years, largely through an increase in online competition and having taken leases on new stores that proved to be unprofitable.
