McColl’s stores likely to fall into administration

McColl's in Newington (image google)

Retail chain McColl’s says it is ‘increasingly likely’ that it will fall into administration unless rescue talks succeed.

The chain says it expects its  shares to be suspended from June 1 after it confirmed it is not in a position to publish its Annual Report by the end of this month.

The stores, which have a partnership agreement with supermarket Morrisons, employ some 16,000 across 1,100 stores – including in Thanet.

McColl’s says it needs short-term funding or it will likely “be placed into administration with the objective of achieving a sale of the group to a third-party purchaser and securing the interests of creditors and employees”.

It is understood that Morrisons has proposed a last ditch deal through PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Sky News reports.

In a trading update in February the chain reported: “The business saw a material step-down in footfall due to the surge in COVID-19 cases relating to Omicron, particularly over the Christmas period, impacting trading. While demand has since picked up, revenues in the first quarter are behind expectations.”

In April McColl’s reported: “The Group has experienced mixed trading since the last update on 28 February 2022. While a recovery in trading performance had continued during the first half of March, the business has since experienced softer trading through the Easter period, impacted by reduced consumer spending and continued supply chain disruption across the industry. The Group is working closely with its wholesale supplier to mitigate product availability issues.”

In Thanet McColl’s have shops in Ramsgate and Birchington.

UPDATE: https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2022/05/06/mccolls-stores-confirm-administrators-have-been-called-in/

4 Comments

  1. Hopefully some other company will acquire them during administration, those corner type shops are needed.

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