Leading restructuring and insolvency experts Moorfields Corporate Recovery appointed Administrators over Blockbuster

Simon Thomas and Nick O’Reilly of leading restructuring and insolvency firm, Moorfields Corporate Recovery LLP, have today [11 November 2013] been appointed joint administrators of TS Operations Limited t/a Blockbuster.

Blockbuster operates one of the UK’s largest chains of film and game rental stores, with 264 stores and approximately 2000 employees. The company also offers a retail aspect to their business and an online presence at www.blockbuster.co.uk. The Blockbuster head office is in Uxbridge, and they had a regional clerical office in Newcastle, which was closed just prior to the Administration.

Gordon Brothers Europe acquired the business and assets of Blockbuster Entertainment Ltd and Blockbuster GB Ltd in March 2013.  Since then the company has striven to turnaround the historically loss-making company by restructuring the business, investing significantly in strategic marketing activities and negotiating with the landlords of its retail outlets. The company also tried to develop a new digital platform but was unable to broker a licensing deal in time. Regrettably, the months since the acquisition have also coincided with a period of poor trading performance across both rental and retail sales.

Whist the company is in administration, every effort will be made to ensure retail trade continues as normal.  We encourage customers to visit stores and continue to rent and buy as usual.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Simon Thomas, Joint Administrator said “This is obviously a difficult and upsetting time for everyone involved at Blockbuster, in particular employees who have endured a stressful period since January this year. We appreciate that staff and customers will want a speedy resolution, however, we must ask people to be patient over the coming weeks.

We are pleased to say that there are parties who are interested in parts of the business. 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.

“We remain committed to being open and transparent during the intervening weeks, and will ensure that all stakeholders, in particular employees, are kept regularly updated about developments.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Katie Smith
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 1143
Email: ksmith@moorfieldscr.com

About Moorfields

Moorfields Corporate Recovery LLP is one of the UK's leading independent firms of Corporate Advisory, Restructuring and Insolvency Services. Our highly skilled teams include restructuring professionals and licensed insolvency practitioners who provide leadership, experience and high quality advice to companies and their stakeholders in financially distressed situations. Moorfields Corporate Recovery is proud to have been awarded Corporate Recovery Firm of the year at the Insolvency and Rescue Awards 2012.

Paul Zalkin, Head of property Solutions in this month’s edition of R3 magazine covering Maximising Recovery in Real Estate.

 

Moorfields Corporate Recovery shortlisted again for National Corporate Recovery Firm of the Year

Moorfields Corporate Recovery LLP are delighted to have been shortlisted for the “Corporate Recovery Firm of the Year” award in the prestigious Credit Today Insolvency and Rescue awards.

Now in their 6^th year, the Insolvency and Rescue awards are recognised as a mark of distinction amongst professionals, celebrating professional excellence in a challenging sector.

The award, open to firms with up to 10 licensed appointment taking IP’s, recognises significant growth, depth of experience, excellence in chosen sectors and focus on client satisfaction.

Moorfields was successfully awarded Corporate Recovery Firm of the year at last year’s awards after demonstrating an excellence in their specialist sectors and strong focus on client satisfaction.

Phil Smith, Partner “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the Corporate Recovery Firm of the Year award, after winning last year’s award we believe we hold a strong position in the market and always ensure we differentiate our service offering to that of our peers.”

Simon Thomas, Partner “I hope that Moorfields will successfully retain their title this year, we are focused on client satisfaction and have continued to improve our specialist service sectors especially our property offering.” 

Moorfields hope to go on to claim victory again this year at the awards ceremony in October.

Moorfields appointed Administrators over portfolio of 50 assets in Scotland

Simon Thomas and Shelley Bullman of leading insolvency and restructuring firm Moorfields Corporate Recovery LLP have been appointed administrators over St Vincent St (491) Ltd (SVS) on 14^th February 2013.

The Scottish portfolio with an estimated guide price of around £15m consists of 56% retail, 30% commercial and 14% residential, with much of the portfolio consisting of prime retail outlets in Glasgow.

The company is one of the last major trading companies of The Coakley Group formally owned by property tycoon Thomas Coakley. The tycoon was once estimated to be worth £70 million but was made bankrupt earlier this year.

The portfolio will continue to run as normal while the administrators carry out a strategic review.

For further details please contact Moorfields Corporate Recovery LLP on 0207 186 1144 .

For media enquiries, please contact:

Katie Smith
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7186 1143
Email: ksmith@moorfieldscr.com

Warning signs your business may be in trouble

The collapse of high street chains such as Comet, HMV and Blockbuster have served to demonstrate that even established brands are not secure within the current financial climate. A number of businesses, regardless of size, may be assessing their current position as they try to figure out whether or not they need to start making contingency plans for the near future. Falling sales Falling sales are a definite sign that your business needs to consider what direction it is heading in. A warning sign that sales are about to drop is if people have stopped talking about your company – or if what they are saying is negative. If you are not getting any new business, or if profits are steadily declining, take this as an advanced warning that your business is potentially in trouble. Vital signs When was the last time you checked your vital signs monitor? Some of the key vital signs for a business include turnover, average order value, productivity rates, employee accuracy, costs, returns and margins. Rapid fluctuations among any of these vital components of your business could indicate that you need to make changes. Fading Morale When so much focus is concentrated on the inner workings of the business itself, and on the customers, it is easy to forget about your staff. However, employees have a significant impact on the success of the business, since the goods and services offered by the business stem from their collective efforts. It is vitally important that you take steps to consider the needs of your staff and whether or not they are sufficiently motivated. This could potentially have a bearing on how effectively your business is able to deal with financial challenges. A business insolvency specialist can assist business leaders and financial directors to deliver pro-active solutions for their business. Enlisting the help of such a service could be an intelligent financial decision in the current climate.

If you would like to have a free no obligation chat with one of our advisers please call us on 0207 186 1143 or visit our website.

What are the options for a struggling business?

When a company finds itself in serious financial difficulty, they have serious questions that they need to face up to. The most sensible option regarding what to do next may be to call in specialist insolvency practitioners to confront the challenges ahead. However, for many companies there is confusion surrounding their options. What will happen to the company assets? Which option is the most sensible one for my business? How much control will I still have? We have looked at a few of the most common options that a struggling business can pursue: Administration Administration is a process that protects a business from creditors whilst the process of restructuring takes place. The process can involve a reduction of overheads, re-financing or key changes to the management structure. Liquidation Liquidation becomes the most likely option if the company is unable to continue running and, as a result, administration is not possible. The central objective of liquidation is to ensure the release of as many assets as possible to pay off creditors. CVA Alternatively, creditors may agree to the installation of a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) if they are convinced that this will achieve a better long-term result than liquidation. A CVA is a legally binding agreement that allows a company to freeze any unsecured debts and repay them over a specified period of time. Compulsory Liquidation Compulsory liquidation can only happen when a court order is issued to wind up a company completely. It can be one of the most complex options for a company which is in trouble due to the potentially lengthy nature of the process. Once the court has appointed a local Official Receiver then a corporate insolvency service can become involved. Corporate insolvency specialists A corporate insolvency specialist can assist business leaders, financial directors and stakeholders to deliver pro-active solutions for their business. They can also offer insightful advice regarding how to proceed in the unstable economic climate of 2013.

If you would like to have a free no obligation chat with one of our advisers please call us on 0207 186 1143 or visit our website.

Bank of England expect inflation to remain above target for 2 more years

Bank of England (BoE) policy-maker David Miles has argued that the BoE may need to contemplate boosting its programme of quantitative easing by a further £175 billion in an effort to bolster the UK’s sluggish economy.

This comes after the bank’s governor Sir Mervyn King suggested that inflation could sit above its 2% target for a further two years.

Sir Mervyn joined the call for the bank to continue its bond-buying programme this past Wednesday (21^st February), after predicting that inflation could reach at least 3% this summer.

Miles also echoed the idea that inflation “may go a bit higher” in the near term, as economic growth continues to be protracted and productivity continues to fall below trend.

Unstable times head for the economy

Arguing that the UK has not been through “a normal recession”, Sir Mervyn argued that the road to recovery won’t be “normal” either.

"Growth is likely to be weak in the near term but further out a continued easing in domestic credit conditions, supported by the Bank's asset purchase programme and the Funding for Lending Scheme, together with the stronger global backdrop, underpin a slow but steady recovery in output," stated the Governor.

The BoE has predicted that the economy is likely to lift by a figure of 1% in 2013, potentially rising more significantly by 2015.

Joshua Raymond, chief market strategist at City Index, argued that an uncertain economic climate means that the BoE has to weigh a number of factors when outlining a plan for the reversal of the UK’s economic fortunes.

"The Bank remains between a rock and a hard place in trying to strike a balance between the rising pressures of inflation and supporting the economic recovery," he said.

Insolvency practitioners

An insolvency practitioner can assist business leaders in identifying and implementing solutions in terms of finance, recovery and risk management. These companies specialise in providing corporate recovery advice to the numerous financial problems that can arise in the current financial climate.

If you would like to have a free no obligation chat with one of our advisers please call us on 0207 186 1143 or visit our website.