More than £80m was owed by Manchester-based online fashion brand Missguided when it collapsed into administration and was rescued by Frasers Group, new documents have revealed.
It has also been confirmed that Missguided's suppliers are expected to be paid less than 2% of the £30m they are owed. Newly-filed documents with Companies House by administrator Teneo show the business will pay out less than 1.7p in the pound to factory owners.
Missguided's debts had risen from £57m in 2021 while its underlying losses, before debts and accounting adjustments had widened to £37m from £10m.
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Teneo said that there was "no prospect" of any funds being returned to unsecured creditors, who are owed £46m in total.
However the firm added that there will be "sufficient asset realisations" to repay the preferential creditors. Employees owed wages, holiday pay and pension contributions will also be paid in full.
As of May 30, Missguided employed 234 members of staff. A total of 147 were transferred to Frasers Group but 87 were made redundant at the end of May. The company's debt facilities included £58m from Alteri Investors, as well as two £10m facilities and €4.4m provided by owner Nitin Passi's father Rajib.
Advisory firm Teneo also said it is considering legal action to pursue repayment of a £595,000 loan made to Rajib. The documents also show that Rajib is not expected to be repaid any of the £24.7m he loaned Missguided.
His son has agreed to repay a loan of £333,000 he took from the company. Alteri Investors will receive at least £18m of the £58m it put into Missguided.
In the administrator's report Teneo said: "As with many online retailers, it experienced strong growth during lockdowns as a result of Covid-19 with revenue peaking in 2021 at £287m.
"However, following the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, the group experienced a softening of customer demand reflecting a rebalancing in the sector between online and physical retail shopping habits. In addition to this, the business also experienced cost inflation, particularly in USA distribution costs, which increased by £24m (88%) in FY21."
In December 2021, Alteri Investors provided a £58m senior secured facility to help Missguided with the "cash flow issues" it faced. Following that Missguided reduced its creditor stretch from £33.4m in November 2021 to £7.7m as of March 2020 and decreased its stock levels from c.£20m in December 2021 to c.£14m in May this year.
It also cut 128 fixed term employees, renegotiated fulfilment contracts per unit from £1.30 to £1.10 and re-tendered US and EU distribution contracts.
Teneo added: "Despite the cost saving initiatives and operational improvements, customer demand remained below management's expectations and the group faced further liquidity challenges. As a result of the liquidity challenges the group commenced a formal sales process in early 2022 to seek a funder to provide financial and operational support."
Teneo was appointed to lead that search but by the end of April "It was apparent that a bid for the business on a solvent transaction basis was unlikely to be forthcoming", the firm said.
The company entered administration at the end of May after the sales process failed.
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