Unwins placed under administration

Unwins placed under administration

	Published : Wed, 21 Dec 2005 10:05 By : Amy Watts Print this Story

LONDON: U.K.'s off-licence liquor retailer Unwins has been placed under administration Monday and accounting firm KPMG has been asked to carry out the formalities.

The process has been initiated at the instance of Unwin's main creditor HBOS Plc. after the deadline to find a buyer ended. KPMG's Myles Halley has been appointed as the administrator.

Halley said only 95 of the firm's 380 stores were trading, and that it was too early to talk about potential job losses. The firm itself has put more than 40 stores up for sale, while several others have been temporarily closed. It is also planning to cut 100 shop managers.

The ailing 168-year-old Kent firm was bought over by Australian businessman Phillip Cook's DM Private Equity in March for 32 million pounds, including debts. The deal provided for the buyer to sell off the firm's freehold assets for 25 million pounds.

The company struggling under the onslaught of supermarkets, has some 2,500 staff on its rolls.

Meanwhile, Friends Provident is understood to have initiated an investigation into what happened to the staff pension contributions at the firm. There have been allegations from the staff that two months' pension contributions have been deducted but not paid into the Unwins scheme. The pension rules stipulate that companies have to pay contributions taken from an employee's wage packet in one month into the pension fund by the 19th day of the following month. The company has to inform the regulator in case of any default giving out reasons. The regulator is empowered to compel the company to pay if it has not gone into administration. When the company is into administration, an insurance fund takes over the pension issues.

According to the most recent accounts statement filed by the firm at Companies House it owed creditors 35.5 million, including 9.5 million in bank loans and overdrafts and 19.5 million to trade creditors.

There are talk about the company being placed under bankruptcy as an application has been filed by the company before the High Court, according to sources. The company's quarterly rent payment falls due this week and in order to avoid legal tangles, it is necessary for it to have bankruptcy protection, the source added.