Administrators human pond life?

[mark69sheer]

So after a 'whole two weeks' of trying to find a buyer for Woolworths the administrators have decided to sell everything off at possibly less than cost. How astute , what wonderful business skills they have , how marvellous they are at turning around failing companies...

or... as usual they have sold everything for whatever they can get as easily as possible and the creditors will see jack as the administrators bill will match the revenue recieved meanwhile 300,000 unemployed and the satellite suppliers going bust too.

Wonderful and nausiating.

[Jasandjules]

Ah, but don't worry, you see the fees of the administrators come out first, so they are all right jack.........

[nlldavies]

I don't think the intention was to save Woolies. Within days of the announcement that they had gone into administration my two local stores were both emptied of high value items overnight much to the bemusement of expectant bargain hunters.

[richyb]

To be fair what would you do? There is no saving the business now so you might as well liquidate everything and try to pay the creditors and staff. Even if that means selling items at a loss I would do it. These people are out of a job soon, atleast try and give them some redundancy pay.

[Don]

Administrators. The fact that they get first dibs at the rotting carcass of a business ahead of the creditors has always infuriated me....but otherwise why would you do the job?

After the Adminsitrators suck the last of the vital fluids out then the Taxman gets his.

And if you'd just shipped Woolies a Christmas' worth of Quality Street you won't see a bean.

Feckers. But it's the system. It's why Directors who knowingly continue to trade when the business is insolvent are supposed to go to jail. But even THAT might not be their fault. After all - if you were trading with a £2m overdraft facility and the bank says - sorry but we want our money back suddenly you are insolvent whereas the day before you weren't.

For every stty Director story there are many, many where the guys running the business did everything by the book and still got shat on.

Sad day. But Woolies going under is just the beginning. The weak ones will go first. Then we'll see how bad it's really going to be.

[Maxf]

OP - how would you have dealt with it?

[cobra kid]

Maxf said:

OP - how would you have dealt with it?

Exactly....easy to sg off but not offer an alternative.

[kambites]

nlldavies said:

I don't think the intention was to save Woolies. Within days of the announcement that they had gone into administration my two local stores were both emptied of high value items overnight much to the bemusement of expectant bargain hunters.

You used the terms "Wollies" and "high value items" in the same sentence.

[lady topaz]

I feel sorry too for the suppliers. When Yardley folded a while back my OH was asked by the liquidators to go and identify goods he had supplied. He went with all documentation and identified over £20,000 of unpaid for stock. When he asked when he could collect, he was told no, it would be used to finish production and then the end product sold to create income. This was then used to pay the liquidators and banks.
He never saw a penny. There must be hundreds of suppliers who will lose out big time.

[paoloh]

cobra kid said:

Maxf said:

OP - how would you have dealt with it?

Exactly....easy to sg off but not offer an alternative.

How about trading thru christmas selling at a sensible price ( giving staff some christmas cheer ), Maybe trying for another 2-3 weeks to see if a potential deal could be done and if not, having this sale in January?

[Bing o]

cobra kid said:

Maxf said:

OP - how would you have dealt with it?

Exactly....easy to sg off but not offer an alternative.

Mark will no doubt go into a long and detailed story as to how business administrators nearly killed a close family relative now.

[paoloh]

Bing o said:

cobra kid said:

Maxf said:

OP - how would you have dealt with it?

Exactly....easy to sg off but not offer an alternative.

Mark will no doubt go into a long and detailed story as to how business administrators nearly killed a close family relative now.

Get a grip. That is neither funny or clever!

[richyb]

paoloh said:

cobra kid said:

Maxf said:

OP - how would you have dealt with it?

Exactly....easy to sg off but not offer an alternative.

How about trading thru christmas selling at a sensible price ( giving staff some christmas cheer ), Maybe trying for another 2-3 weeks to see if a potential deal could be done and if not, having this sale in January?

There is probably not enough cash to last that long. Think how much it must cost to open all those stores every morning.

[paoloh]

richyb said:

paoloh said:

cobra kid said:

Maxf said:

OP - how would you have dealt with it?

Exactly....easy to sg off but not offer an alternative.

How about trading thru christmas selling at a sensible price ( giving staff some christmas cheer ), Maybe trying for another 2-3 weeks to see if a potential deal could be done and if not, having this sale in January?

There is probably not enough cash to last that long. Think how much it must cost to open all those stores every morning.

I have no idea TBH. I'm sure the revenue being generated would cover costs because, let's be honest, no supplier is going to get paid.

[richyb]

paoloh said:

richyb said:

paoloh said:

cobra kid said:

Maxf said:

OP - how would you have dealt with it?

Exactly....easy to sg off but not offer an alternative.

How about trading thru christmas selling at a sensible price ( giving staff some christmas cheer ), Maybe trying for another 2-3 weeks to see if a potential deal could be done and if not, having this sale in January?

There is probably not enough cash to last that long. Think how much it must cost to open all those stores every morning.

I have no idea TBH. I'm sure the revenue being generated would cover costs because, let's be honest, no supplier is going to get paid.

Can that be legally done? If you keep borrowing/using things you can't pay for despite knowing that is the case are the directors not legally cupable for this?

[paoloh]

richyb said:

paoloh said:

richyb said:

paoloh said:

cobra kid said:

Maxf said:

OP - how would you have dealt with it?

Exactly....easy to sg off but not offer an alternative.

How about trading thru christmas selling at a sensible price ( giving staff some christmas cheer ), Maybe trying for another 2-3 weeks to see if a potential deal could be done and if not, having this sale in January?

There is probably not enough cash to last that long. Think how much it must cost to open all those stores every morning.

I have no idea TBH. I'm sure the revenue being generated would cover costs because, let's be honest, no supplier is going to get paid.

Can that be legally done? If you keep borrowing/using things you can't pay for despite knowing that is the case are the directors not legally cupable for this?

The goods are already in the stores and warehouses. It is a very difficult situation. None of us know quite how much stock has already been paid for and how much hasn't.

I do agree that the liquidators have folded a tad easily.

[Maxf]

300 Stores with 300 sets of rent due in December. Should they continue trading knowing they can't pay and shaft the landlords? If they are losing £XXk a day then trading through Christmas is just making it even more unlikely that lower level creditors (ie not the taxman) will get paid.

I am surprised some kind of Phoenix company hasnt risen up and taken the best stores though - some of their trading locations are amongst the best in the country.

[richyb]

Maxf said:

300 Stores with 300 sets of rent due in December. Should they continue trading knowing they can't pay and shaft the landlords? If they are losing £XXk a day then trading through Christmas is just making it even more unlikely that lower level creditors (ie not the taxman) will get paid.

I am surprised some kind of Phoenix company hasnt risen up and taken the best stores though - some of their trading locations are amongst the best in the country.

Talks are probably underway, just on the quiet at present.

[Marf]

http://www.hilcouk.com/

This lot are interested in taking over the retail arm of Woolworths, they just havent got a satisfactory agreement on the assumption of the £300m of debt that the stores carry.

Its a big risk to take at the moment.

Theo Profiterole backed out for the same reason, he didnt want to take on the debt.

[paoloh]

Maxf said:

300 Stores with 300 sets of rent due in December. Should they continue trading knowing they can't pay and shaft the landlords? If they are losing £XXk a day then trading through Christmas is just making it even more unlikely that lower level creditors (ie not the taxman) will get paid.

I am surprised some kind of Phoenix company hasnt risen up and taken the best stores though - some of their trading locations are amongst the best in the country.

A months rent?? These are all on long leases. It will take months for landlords to get properties back and then most will sit idle for 2-3 years. Also remember all the time Woolies are in there, they are responsoble for the rates. Landlords do not want empty properties!