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Blockbuster and Barratts back in administration

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12th Nov 2013
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Major retailers Barratts and Blockbuster have collapsed into administration again following a tough few months on the high street.

Duff & Phelps has been appointed as administrator to shoe shop business, while restructuring firm Moorfields Corporate Recovery has been appointed administrator of TS Operations, which trades as Blockbuster.

This is the third time in four years that Barratts has gone into administration, and Duff & Phelps has said it is now reviewing the chain's financial position as well as seeking a sale of the business.

Duff & Phelps joint administrators Philip Duffy and David Whitehouse blamed “difficult trading conditions” for the most recent failure.

Duffy added that an investor had recently offered to inject £5m into the chain, but withdrew the offer on 7 November.

“In view of the financial position of the company and withdrawal of that equity offer the directors were left with no choice but to appoint administrators,” Duffy said.

Simon Thomas and Nicholas O’Reilly of Moorfields were appointed joint administrators on 11 November for DVD and computer game rental chain Blockbuster.

The administrators now manage the affairs, business and property of the company, which will continue to trade in the meantime.

Last month, private equity firm Gordon Brothers Europe, which bought Blockbuster for an undisclosed sum in March, said it was filing a notice of intention to appoint an administrator to the retailer.

Back at the start of the year the rental business had fallen victim to the retail slump announcing that it had gone into administration, citing increased competition from internet-based providers along with the shift to digital streaming of movies and games.

Simon Thomas, joint administrator at Moorfields, said this week: “Our focus will be to secure a future for as much of the business as possible as well as trying to save jobs before Christmas.”

He added there were parties that were interested in parts of the business.

The latest insolvencies follow a number of other retail administrations, including Comet and Jessops.

In the run up to Christmas and the January sales season, who else do you think could fall victim to the high street slump?

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Time for change
By Time for change
12th Nov 2013 17:15

Both these situations prove

that George Osborne's recovery prospects, are not as robust as he might like to think.

I'm just concerned that the Government is trying to manufacture a recovery, rather than trying to assist a more organic and meaningful return to growth.

More problems could hit the High Street in December, when quarterly rents become due.

From where I sit, we are certainly not out out of the woods yet and I still see another three or four years of austerity.

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