The long-running administration of the original companies behind Liam Gallagher’s former fashion brand Pretty Green is to come to an end after the advisory firm overseeing the process moved for dissolution.
Both Pretty Green Limited and Pretty Green Group Limited are to be closed down for good after Moorfields Advisory completed its work.
The brand itself is still trading after it was bought by JD Sports in April 2019 shortly after it collapsed into administration, though the former Oasis frontman is no longer involved.
READ MORE: Click here to sign up to the BusinessLive North West newsletter
Below, BusinessLive details the history of Pretty Green from its fall from grace to being saved by JD Sports as well as how much it owed to creditors and whether major investors have recovered their losses.
History
Pretty Green was founded by former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher in 2009 and was named after a track by The Jam.
Rockpool Investments backed the Manchester-headquartered business with an £11m investment in 2017.
The business had taken a hit when House of Fraser entered administration in August 2018. The department store, which was immediately bought out of administration by Mike Ashley’s retail empire, had housed 20 Pretty Green concessions.
Ahead of entering administration, Pretty Green's turnover totalled £38.2m in the 16 months to January 2018 while its pre-tax losses were cut from £5.6m to £1.5m.
Administration
The company fell into administration at the end of March 2019 after having been on the brink of insolvency for the previous two weeks.
Simon Thomas and Nicholas O’Reilly Moorfields Advisory were appointed as joint administrators of both Pretty Green Limited and holding company Pretty Green Group. The firm had previously overseen Toys R Us UK’s insolvency in 2018.
Administration came after Pretty Green had originally appointed Moorfields Advisory to review strategic options for its future.
At the time, Pretty Green had 12 standalone stores, 40 concessions and a wholesale business.
Documents filed with Companies House in May 2019 confirmed Pretty Green's unsecured creditors were owed around £13.3m, including £8.7m of intercompany debt.
JD Sports
Pretty Green was bought out of administration by Greater Manchester-headquartered JD Sports on April 4, 2019.
The group acquired Pretty Green’s business, brand, online and wholesale business as well as its flagship store in Manchester.
The move saved the jobs of 67 members of staff but the remaining 11 stores and its House of Fraser concessions ceased trading – affecting 97 employees.
Documents filed with Companies House in May 2019 revealed the JD Sports deal was worth £3.3m.
In a statement released at the time, joint administrator and Moorfields Advisory partner Simon Thomas said: "We are pleased to have secured the sale of the Pretty Green brand.
"We have worked hard over the last few weeks in challenging circumstances to secure the best outcome for the business, its creditors and its employees.
"We are confident that JD Sports is the right fit for the business and will help to grow its online and wholesale channels."
Also speaking at the time, then JD Sports executive chairman Peter Cowgill added: "We are pleased to have completed the acquisition of the highly regarded Pretty Green brand.
"We look forward to working with the team on future positive developments."
Expansion - Pretty Green is back on the high street
Pretty Green announced plans to reopen a shop in Manchester on King Street in September 2021. The store opened its doors in the following month.
The company's Manchester store had originally survived the initial administration process in 2019 but was eventually closed.
The brand has recently opened a shop in King Edward Street, Leeds, while it also has a store in Meadowhall, Sheffield.
Dissolution of the original businesses
According to newly-filed documents with Companies House, Pretty Green Limited and Pretty Green Group are to be dissolved as the administration process comes to an end.
Milan Vuceljic and Richard Keley of Moorfields Advisory were recently appointed to oversee the process.
The documents detail the progress that had been made since the previous update in March 2022.
They show that more than £4.4m had been generated by Pretty Green Limited through selling off assets since the start of the administration process while £1.2m of expenses had been racked up.
More than £3.2m has been paid out in dividends to secured, preferential and unsecured creditors over the same time.
Almost £79,000 was raised by selling assets of Pretty Green Group Limited during the administration process while £24,178 of expenses were incurred. PGGL's secured creditor was paid a total dividend of £54,455.
The administrations of both companies were scheduled to end on September 27, 2022.
In the documents, the joint administrators said: "It had been envisaged that the second administration objective would be achieved, namely that there would be a better result for creditors as a whole than would be likely if the companies were wound up (without first being in administration).
"It can be seen that this administration objective was achieved."
Rockpool Investments' indebtedness was estimated at £6.3m when Pretty Green entered administration. Since then it has received just over £1m.
The documents also show that a dividend of 0.9p in the Pound was paid on June 8, 2022, to unsecured creditors of Pretty Green Limited whose claims totalled £10.9m.
A representative of Liam Gallagher has been contacted by BusinessLive for a comment.
READ NEXT:
