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.

Insolvency index report brings mixed news for UK businesses

The latest business insolvency index produced by Experian has highlighted some surprising results in terms of the amount of company insolvencies recorded in the UK last year.

 

2012 saw a slight fall in the number of companies who were forced into insolvency compared to the previous year.

In regional terms, North West England, the West Midlands and Wales saw the biggest improvement in terms of the insolvency rate.

 

A numbers game

 

There wasn’t good news for everyone though. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the report was the fact that there was a clear disparity between the insolvency cases recorded on behalf of larger companies compared to smaller operations.

 

Firms with between 51-100 employees enjoyed an improvement in the number of recorded insolvencies, with the figure falling from 2.22% in 2011 to 1.83% in 2012.

 

In contrast, the situation was quite different for companies with more than 500 employees. These companies actually saw an increase in the rate of insolvencies, with the figure rising from 1.46% in 2011 to 1.61% in 2012.

 

These figures certainly suggest that it is the larger companies who are continuing to feel the sharpest effects of the stuttering UK economy. It is our view, however that smaller companies are also suffering real difficulties as trading conditions continue to be difficult. Many business owners are simply 'closing the doors' some what distoring statistics.

 

HMV stand out as an obvious recent example of a major company that has considerably more than 500 employees and has been forced to accept the reality of the current financial climate.

 

Specialist advice

 

Businesses may have felt that the worst of the downturn was now behind them. However, these results suggest that a number of companies could simply be caught in the eye of a wider-reaching financial storm.

 

Underperforming businesses worried about their financial situation can benefit from seeking advice sooner rather than later.

 

A restructuring and insolvency specialist can assist business leaders, financial directors and stakeholders to deliver pro-active solutions for their business, as well as advice on how to adapt to the ever-changing economic landscape.

 

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.

Moorfields Corporate Recovery - leading provider of Corporate Restructuring & Insolvency Services - Insolvency Practitioners providing advice on Company Administration, Business Recovery, Pre-Pack Administration, Company Voluntary Arrangement, Liquidation, Receiverships.