Peacocks will survive to see another day following its rescue from administration. However, questions are being asked by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group as to how fairly administrator FRP conducted the sale. It transpired, soon after news of the sale broke, that a private investment firm controlled by Philip Day’s family was providing a deferred loan to enable Steve Simpson, CEO of Edinburgh Woollen Mill, to mount an MBO. Further working capital support had apparently come from assorted Middle East investors in Day’s circle to enable the business to recommence trading.
Philip Day will not be involved in the running of the Peacocks business and nor will he be involved in the running of Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Ponden Home or Bonmarche. However, is a significant secured creditor to Peacocks, and to Pureplay Retail which owns the other three brands following a deal struck in January.
Frasers has made claims that Peacock’s IP was reassigned prior to the chain entering administration to deliberately deter other bidders. Frasers had offered £66m for the Peacocks business but this had, it is believed, been bettered by Day, as the key secured creditor. It is understood that the all-party parliamentary group on fair business banking which is investigating standards in the UK insolvency profession will be considering whether some practitioners have been favouring lenders’ interests over those of other creditors.
A spokesperson at FRP said: “All of our sales processes are fair, robust and conducted confidentially. All interested parties are given the same access to information and outcome of those processes and our statutory investigations are communicated, in line with our duties, to creditors at the appropriate time.”
Meanwhile, 200 Peacocks stores and around 2000 jobs have been saved by the deal which will also see the new owner covering the £70m which is owed to the unsecured creditors of Peacocks, which will bring some long-anticipated cheer in certain quarters.
Share