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Completely Motoring Goes Into Administration

Family owned Staverton and Gloucester-based company  Completely Motoring Ltd. (CM) that specialises in Vehicles and Motorbike sales has gone into administration and is seeking a buyer.The firm was created in 2009 and has grown to become a major used and new vehicle reseller in Wales and the South West, employing 165 people across 14 showrooms and 11 locations.To March 31, 2023, the firm reported turnover of £78.4 million, up from £50.3 million, although pre-tax earnings fell from slightly over £1 million to £677,000.After a difficult summer and financial issues, the group has gone into administration.Azets restructuring partner and licensed insolvency practitioner Jonathan Amor, Matthew Richards, and Alessandro Sidoli of Xeinadin Corporate Recovery Limited were appointed joint administrators of Completely Motoring Ltd, John Wilkins (Motor Engineers) Ltd, and Thunder Road Motorcycles Ltd.After their appointment, the joint administrators have invited interested parties to approach them as quickly as possible to ensure the group's continuation.Jonathan Amor said: "After weak summer sales, the group is struggling financially. Thus, the group is under administration to preserve it.”We are discussing sales with interested parties. We have received many expressions of interest and ask any further parties to contact us as soon as possible to secure the group's future and save as much of the business and employment as feasible."The group's 2023 accounts showed £4.37 million in fixed assets, £23.8 million in current assets, and £2 million in net assets.

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Completely Motoring Goes Into Administration
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TGI Fridays Secures A Rescue Deal Resulting In 35 Immediate Site Closures

Update 07th OctoberBreal Capital and Calveton UK have secured a rescue deal for TGI Fridays, meaning the chain will continue to exist on UK high streets.However, the deal includes just 51 of its 86 sites, forcing 35 to shut with immediate effect.1,012 redundancies have been made - please refer to our guide here on your rights in redundancy.The new private equity owners, Breal and Calveton, jointly own the upmarket restaurant chain D&D London. Between them they have also had investments in Byron Burger and wine bar chain Vinoteca - so they are no stranger to the restaurant world! A full list of the TGI Friday sites closingBarnsley Birmingham Bracknell Brighton Marina Bristol Cabot Circus Cardiff Newport Road Chelmsford Cheltenham Croydon Derby Dundee Durham Edinburgh Fort Kinnaird Enfield Gateshead Gloucester Quays Halifax Jersey Leeds Leeds Trinity Leicester Lincoln Manchester Royal Exchange Newcastle Eldon Square Newport Northampton Prestwich Romford Sale Solihull Southampton West Quay South Speke Sutton Coldfield Swansea Watford NorthUpdate 19th SeptemberHostmore, the owners of TGI Fridays has gone into administration and the 86 sites are now officially up for sale."The sale process remains ongoing, with no decisions having been made to close any existing stores, and TGI Fridays continues to operate normally across the country," a Hostmore spokesperson told the BBC.According to reports in the Telegraph administrators at Teneo, the restructuring firm, are on standby if TGI Fridays cannot sell its restaurants.  The firm ran into trouble following its attempted foray into the US.  The chain has 86 restaurants and employs 3000 people.The owners of the chain, Hostmore, has £35m of debts.The business was spun out of private equity trust Electra in November 2021 in a move that Hostmore chief executive Robert Cook hailed as a “significant milestone”.Its shares started trading at 147p but by March of last year it had lost 90% of its value.  By Monday 16th September 2024 the whole company has been valued at £1m. Could it be that TGIs could go into a CVA? The CVA would only really work if the main problem was high rents or just certain outlets needed to be closed down.  The money that it owes its lender is no doubt secured so they have the power to call in administrators at any time.Without knowing more about its exact financial position it is hard to say.If the company does go into administration it is likely that a number of the restaurants, which are making money, will be snapped up by other restaurant groups and may continue to trade under the TGI brand.  If not then the owners will take advantage of their prime locations.

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TGI Fridays Secures A Rescue Deal Resulting In 35 Immediate Site Closures

Dobbies Looking To Close Stores In A Restructuring

in Retail

Dobbies, the garden centre group, is looking to close 17 of its 77 stores before the end of the year, in order to address “historically uneconomical rent costs”.The garden centre group is embarking on a restructuring plan expected to return Dobbies to “sustainable profitability” that impacts 465 staff (of which 82 work full-time).11 unprofitable garden centres and all six of its ‘little Dobbies’ high street sites will shut, whilst the group looks to secure rent reductions at another nine sites.Reports back in August indicated that FTI Consulting were advising them on a possible CVAThis would enable them to put pressure on landlords to reduce rents as a CVA can allow the company to exit premises if the CVA is approved.  However, in subsequent statements it is clear that it has moved to a restructuring plan.  Such a plan will include secured creditors as well whereas a CVA is only binding on unsecured creditors.  A restructuring plan also has to be approved by a court.Dobbies was established in 1865 and grew to employ 3,600 staff across the UK. It was acquired by Ares Management last year and reported a £105.2m pre-tax loss in the year to March 2023.The company said: “The restructuring plan, and other strategic initiatives, are expected to return Dobbies to sustainable profitability through site rationalisations, rent reductions and other tangible cost savings, securing its long-term future and allowing access to future investment.“Thereafter, Dobbies will operate 60 stores and continue to play a key role in the market, working constructively with stakeholders and suppliers, and having an active and committed role in the communities in which it’s based.”The garden centres closing this year: Altrincham Antrim Gloucester Gosforth Harlestone Heath Huntingdon Inverness King’s Lynn Pennine Reading Stratford-upon-AvonThe Little Dobbies high street stores closing: Cheltenham Chiswick Clifton Richmond upon Thames Stockbridge Westbourne Grove, London

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Dobbies Looking To Close Stores In A Restructuring

UK SME companies run by women are less likely to go bust than companies run by men.

UK SME companies run by women are less likely to go insolvent than companies run by men.KSA Group Limited, insolvency practitioners who run the website www.companyrescue.co.uk has researched the UK SME market of over 4m businesses in an attempt to see if there was a gender bias on the board of companies that become insolvent.The study was designed to investigate if the insolvency rate was higher for male or female-run companies.  In this follow up to its 2018 Study of its kind in the UK, companies were investigated to determine the gender of the board of companies that had either gone into administration or liquidation over the last twelve months, to see if there was any correlation between gender and the general financial health of a business.Key findingsInsolvency rate is 71% higher in male run companies 9 times as many companies are run by men than women There is a small difference in the industry sectors of companies run by men or run by women. Construction businesses more likely to be male run and education business more likely to be run by women.It was found that the insolvency rate of male-dominated businesses was 0.7% and those in female-dominated businesses was 0.41%.  So, the insolvency rate is 71% higher in male-run businesses.What conclusions can we draw from these findings? KSA Group said; “It is apparent that the insolvency rate is higher in male run businesses, but this may be due to a number of factors that have nothing to do with whether men are inherently worse at running businesses than women.  It may well be that the businesses that tend to be more likely to become insolvent due to the nature of the industry or recent economic events are coincidently run by men.” However, he went on to add that "This is now the third study that we have carried out since 2018 and the results are very similar.  In 2018 the types of businesses run by women were different to the ones in 2024. In 2018 property businesses made up a higher proportion of women run businesses that went into insolvency whereas in 2024 it was Retail and Education.  This might suggest that the business sector is not that relevant and so pointing to a higher financial competency, or less risk taking, by women directors.See the pie charts below which have categorised businesses into the established Standard Industry Classification. 

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UK SME companies run by women are less likely to go bust than companies run by men.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle may have to go into administration

Inverness Caledonian Thistle may have to go into administration having failed to secure new investment.The P&J reports that this season the League One team stands to lose £1.2m.Former chairman of Caley Thistle, Alan Savage has been searching recent months for a buyer for the team.Savage kept the club running in August with his own £200,000.According to the article, leading football administrator Bryan Jackson has assigned Inverness to BDO, the accounting company handling Rangers' insolvency and serving as administrators for Dunfermline Athletic and Hearts.With repetitions and a point deduction hanging, this will instantly cause problems on and off the pitch.With a 15 point deduction from the SPFL, Caley Thistle's chances of promotion back to the Championship would be seriously undermined.Already five points off Queen of the South at League One, Duncan Ferguson's squad is might find themselves lowest on minus six points.The club has meanwhile declared Charlie Reilly's loan from Dundee signed.Joining on a temporary loan until January next year, the 22-year-oldAs Reilly was nominated for Scotland League Two Player of the Year, he scored an amazing 24 goals and gave Albion Rovers 19.Read about the football creditors rule

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Inverness Caledonian Thistle may have to go into administration

ISG Goes Into Administration and is the biggest Collapse since Carillion in 2018

ISG, the construction company and UK Government contractor has entered administration, making 2,200 workers redundant with immediate effect.Based on turnover, ISG was the sixth largest construction company in the UK, with revenues of around £2.2bn. Despite this, the firm has faced financial strain for some months and attempts to secure a rescue deal failed.ISG Chief Executive, Zoe Price, explained the situation had arisen due to ''legacy issues'' relating to ''large loss-making contracts'' secured between 2018 and 2020.A notable project ISG completed was the Velodrome for the 2012 Olympics. Most recently, the contractor was working on 69 Government projects - 22 of these for the Ministry of Justice.A spokesperson of Ministry of Justice said that contingency plans were in place to mitigate the impact of ISGs collapse. Administrators will be worked with, to ''find alternative ways to deliver these projects where necessary''.As of yet, no administrators have been confirmed as appointed, but rumours are circulating that it will be Ernst & Young.The last time there was a high-profile collapse in the construction sector was in 2018 with Carillion's administration. The aftermath of that collapse was lengthy delays in projects and in addition, increased costs. Is the same going to happen for ISGs paused projects?The collapse of yet another big construction company highlights cracks in the UKs construction industry and certainly raises some questions.Suzannah Nichol, CEO of Build UK (the sector's trade body) remarked ''Whilst there have been changes since Carillion six years ago, there clearly has not been enough change.''If you are an employee who has just been made redundant please take a read of our helpful guide here.

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ISG Goes Into Administration and is the biggest Collapse since Carillion in 2018
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Monthly Insolvency Statistics: August 2024

in Research and Statistics

The August monthly insolvency statistics have been released. Here we share an overview. Company Insolvencies Statistics report that August 2024 showed a total of 1,953 registered company insolvencies in England and Wales, a 15% decrease compared to August 2023. Despite a decrease, these figures are still higher than the number of company insolvencies seen during the COVID-19 pandemic and between 2014-2019.Administrations, Compulsory Liquidations and CVLs faced a decrease in usage in August 2024. Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) were the only insolvency tool to experience an increase, that being an 82% increase compared to August 2023 levels.Nonetheless, creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs) remained the most common tool used, comprising 79% of cases.Registered at Companies House through August 2024, there was just one restructuring plan and two moratoriums.Scotland and Northern Ireland both saw a decrease in insolvencies in August 2024, being 9% and 8% respectively, compared to August 2023.With CVAs on the rise is is hopeful that of the many companies which are facing financial struggles, a rescue is on the cards and trading can continue.Find the full release here.

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Monthly Insolvency Statistics: August 2024

Hadden Construction Goes Into Administration

Hadden Construction, the Perthshire housebuilder established in 1992, has gone into administration with the loss of 66 Jobs.Work on active sites including supported living apartment developments and affordable homes will stop depending on an evaluation of ongoing projects.This week joint administrators Ben Cairns and Jonny Marston from Alvarez & Marsal were appointed to "wind down" company operations.The failure of the company was blamed on rising materials costs and an increase in labour rates.Mr. Cairns said: "Like other contractors, Hadden Construction has been battling a number of headwinds in recent years, including inflated materials prices, rising labour costs and supply chain interruptions.“As administrators, we will seek an orderly wind down of the operations and will welcome any investor interest in the company’s assets.”Mr Cairns added: “We understand that today’s news is unsettling for the company’s employees and will be doing all we can to support them over the weeks ahead.”With a turnover of £30.2 million, the most recent figures for the company for the year ended March 31 2023 show a pre-tax profit of £260,503.Hadden was appointed by the Scottish Procurement Alliance to its £100 million Refurbishment and Modernisation (RM3) Framework in March of this year. Apart from several other public sector frameworks including Scotland Excel's New Build Residential Framework, Wheatley Group, Link Group, Hub East Central, Hub South East and The City of Edinburgh Council, Hadden was already appointed to SPA's Public Buildings and Infrastructure (PB3) Framework and New Build Housing Construction (H2).In addition, it was preparing to replace 20 chalets on a permanent Gipsy Traveller site near Perth, the company signed a £1.9m design and construct contract in April to deliver 10 reasonably priced homes for rent in Newtyle for Abertay Housing Association.Elsewhere, Hadden had worked on a £6.25 million renovation at the Muirhead House student residence at the University of Stirling.The construction industry has the highest insolvency rate when compared to other industries. This is due to a number of factors.Below are some of the common problems we’ve seen happen in the industry: Contract arguments and QS problems. Bad debts. Delays in repayments from HMRC, regarding CIS deductions (which are connected to PAYE scheme). HMRC can be slow in making CIS refunds, leading to issues with cash flow. Time to pay deals with HMRC for PAYE and VAT (where applicable) being too expensive for your cashflow. Losses made on large contracts, where large clients or main contractors slow down payments and sometimes go into administration. Hitting YOUR cashflow. So called “subby bashing”. Issues with sub-contractor non performance or slow completions. Difficult customers, be they private individuals, clients or contractors – who add extra work on and won’t pay extra! Lengthy contracts with material prices agreed at beginning. I.e. quotes do not keep up with rising costs. Especially tough after huge price rises in recent years. Less focus on financial accounts, financial management due to directors and management being onsite. Hard to win new contracts if cash flow is tight, perhaps due to low credit rating. Retention sums not released at agreed times. Suppliers taking legal actions such as County Court Judgments, or even issuing winding up petitions.

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Hadden Construction Goes Into Administration
stone kitchen

Levantina Goes Into Administration

Operating in Basingstoke and Rotherham, Levantina UK, the stone company, has entered administration citing declining demand in the UK's housing and refurbishment sector as a main cause of its financial difficulties.Levantina UK is the UK distribution division of Levantina Group, a worldwide stone business focused in extracting, manufacturing and distributing stone products including marble, granite, limestone and other natural stones.Mostly buying semi-finished stones in slab form, the company has more than 350 B2B customers from stonemasons and kitchen and bathroom businesses in the UK.Levantina (UK) Limited reported turnover of £5.1 million in accounts for the year ended December 31 2022. But over the same period, its post-tax losses grew from about £538,000 to almost £723,000.Now appointed as joint administrators of Interpath Advisory are Nick Holloway and Stephen Absolom; the wider multinational Levantina Group is not affected by the administration. After the joint administrators were appointed, the company kept its twelve employees."We are working with the business to continue to trade and keep operations running at the sites in Basingstoke and Rotherham, so it is business as usual for staff and customers. The administration provides a period of protection while we explore options for the future of the business in the UK" said Interpath Advisory Managing Director and joint administrator Nick Holloway.The company's assets in its 2022 accounts came out to be just under £3.4 million. But at the time, it owed debtors around £5.8 million, and overall the company had liabilities of more than £2.4 million.

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Levantina Goes Into Administration

Remainder of The Body Shop Stores Saved From Closure Amid Administration Rescue Deal

Update as per September 2024100+ Body Shop stores have been rescued from closure following an administration rescue deal by a consortium led by Mike Jatania.Mr Jatania is known a 'Cosmetics King'. The deal came from Aurea, his investment firm.Reports share that this new deal will ''steer the Body Shop's revival and reclaim its global leadership in the ethical beauty sector it pioneered''.Sky News report more.End of February 2024According to reports the Body Shop may be using a CVA to exit from administration in order to continue trading.  The administrators have drawn up plans to discuss rent cuts with landlords.  Read our page on administration followed by CVA 20th February 2024The Body Shop has announced that it will close approximately half of its stores, starting with 7 that will close immediately today; Surrey Quays (London), Oxford Street (London), Canary Wharf (London), Cheapside (London), Nuneaton (Warwickshire), Ashford Town Centre (Kent), Bristol Queens Road (Bristol).Along with the store closures, is the cutting of 40% of roles at its London headquarters - leaving around 400 full-time employees.The Body Shop ambassador programme is also going to close. This is the scheme were individuals sell products for a commission.Administrators say the brand's current portfolio is ''no longer viable'' after ''years of unprofitability''. The restructuring will include a renewed focus on the companies' products, online sales channels and wholesale. 13 February 2024Following the reports this weekend, administrators from FRP Advisory have officially been appointed to ''accelerate the restructuring'' of the UK arm of The Body Shop.Administrators will explore all options going forward for the business.Joint administrators, Tony Wright, Geoff Rowley, and Alastair Massey, will continue to trade the business in administration. 12 February 2024It has been reported this weekend that cosmetics retail chain, The Body Shop, is preparing to appoint administrators from FRP Advisory to its UK arm. This comes just six weeks after the chains new owner, Aurelius, took control.It is understood that the retailer experienced weak trading over the festive period and early January, coupled with having insufficient working capital.In the UK, Body Shop has 200 stores to the along with its headquarters in London -It seems unlikely that the British cosmetics, skin-care and perfume company, set up by the late Anita Roddick, will disappear from our high streets completely.  What is likely, is that there will be a focus on reducing its costs and building up a stronger online presence.  The brand still has appeal for its ethical stance and is popular with younger shoppers. Though the process of administration is being explored for the UK operations, the brands global franchise partners are not affected.In fact, very recently, parts of The Body Shop's businesses across Europe and Asia  have been sold to an unnamed family office - according to Retail Week.Will we see The Body Shop appoint administrators? Will there be a change in owners for the fourth time?It is interesting to see that the company has not opted for a Company Voluntary Arrangement.  This may be due to the fact that its problems do not stem from a number of poorly performing stores (which can be exited in a CVA) but to more widespread difficulties.  It is also likely that the owners have security over the assets of the brand.  If they have security then they can appoint administrators and are first in line for any payouts.This news piece will be kept up to date in accordance to current events. You can find out more on this story from BBC News. 

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Remainder of The Body Shop Stores Saved From Closure Amid Administration Rescue Deal
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Monthly Insolvency Statistics July 2024

in Research and Statistics

The July monthly insolvency statistics have been released. Here we provide a summary overview. Company Insolvencies The July 2024 company insolvency statistics for England and Wales showed a total of 2,191 insolvencies, a 16% increase compared to July 2023.Creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs) remained the most common, comprising 77% of cases.Compulsory liquidations also saw a rise, reaching their highest level since 2018. Sectors such as construction and retail were notably impacted.Scotland saw a 21% year-on-year increase in insolvencies, while Northern Ireland’s figures remained stable. The overall trend indicates a gradual increase in insolvency cases across the UK.Just 25 companies were rescued by using Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVAs) in July.  This is unfortunate as surely it is possible that some of the 1000s of companies that went insolvent last month some might have been able to survive by using a CVA? CVLs The number of CVLs decreased by 9% from June 2024 but was 15% higher than during the same month last year (July 2023), after seasonal adjustment. Compulsory Liquidations The number of seasonally adjusted compulsory liquidations in July 2024 was the highest monthly number since August 2018, 5% higher than in June 2024 and 27% higher than in July 2023.In 2023, there were 44% more compulsory liquidations than in 2022, but they were still 4% fewer than in 2019 (before to the pandemic). The numbers have risen from the all-time lows observed in 2020 and 2021, when limitations were placed on the use of winding-up petitions and statutory demands, which resulted in compulsory liquidations. Administrations The number of administrations in July 2024 was 10% lower than in June 2024 but 6% higher than in July 2023, after seasonal adjustment.High profile administrations have been few and far between these last few months with Carpetright being the most noteable exception.It does seem that In the 12 months to June 2024 compared to the previous 12-month period, insolvencies increased by the most in the hospitality sector.  The increase was c.15%This is not surprising given that this includes the period of high inflation in the last half of last year.

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Monthly Insolvency Statistics July 2024

CTD Tiles Has Gone Into Administration – Some Stores Saved By Topps

CTD Tiles goes into administration and closes 56 of its outlets.The company's administrators stated that 268 employees were laid off as a result of the failure.Despite the huge number of retail closures, rival Topps Group purchased 30 CTD Tiles locations and two distribution sites in a rescue plan.Topps Tiles has purchased CTD Tiles' brand and intellectual property for £9 million from administration.The tile expert has purchased the supplier's brands, which include CTD Tiles, CTD Trade, and CTD Architectural Tiles, as well as 30 retail outlets, chosen inventory, and all related intellectual property.Topps stated that the retailer is "complementary" to its other businesses and that the acquired stores and assets provide it with "the opportunity to make a meaningful entry into the housebuilder segment and expand its existing share of the architect and designer segment".Topps bought 30 branches that generated £20 million in sales for the fiscal year ending June 2024 and will continue to trade under the CTD brand name. Why didn't Topps Tiles buy the company in a Pre Pack Administration? A pre pack administration sale is possible in these circumstances but the downside is that Topps would have had to take on all the employees via a TUPE process.  By waiting until the administration was started they were able to pick up the assets they wanted.  CTD might have been able to use a CVA to reduce stores but without knowing the make up of the creditors it is difficult to say.  If the business was simply not viable or had significant secured lenders then an administration would have been the correct procedure.If you have purchased goods from CTD then see this page on your rights Below is a full list of the stores which have been immediately shut and those which have been saved: 56 store closures: Aintree, Liverpool Ashford, Kent Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire Basildon, Essex Blackpool, Lancashire Bolton, Lancashire Brierley Hill, West Midlands Cambridge Central, Cambridgeshire Canterbury, Kent Carlisle, Cumbria Chelmsford, Essex Chester, Cheshire Colchester, Essex Coventry, Warwickshire Cricklewood, Greater London Croydon, Greater London Denton, Greater Manchester Derby Ascot Drive, Derbyshire Dundee, Scotland Eastbourne, East Sussex Exeter, Devon Falkirk, Scotland Gateshead, Tyne and Wear Glasgow Helen Street, Scotland Hanwell, Greater London Harlow, Essex Huddersfield, West Yorkshire Ipswich, Suffolk Kilmarnock, Scotland King’s Lynn, Norfolk Leeds, West Yorkshire Lincoln, Lincolnshire Livingston, Scotland Maidstone, Kent Newcastle North Shields, Tyne and Wear Newcastle West Kingston Park, Tyne and Wear Northampton, Northamptonshire Peterlee, Scotland Plymouth, Devon Portsmouth, Hampshire Preston, Lancashire Rochdale, Lancashire Rotherham, South Yorkshire Slough, Berkshire Southampton, Hampshire St Albans, Hertfordshire Stirling, Scotland Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire Sunderland, Tyne and Wear Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands Swindon, Wiltshire Tonbridge, Kent Uxbridge, Greater London Wembley Stadium, Greater London Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset Whetstone, Leicestershire  30 stores rescued by Topps: Aberdeen, Scotland Basingstoke, Hampshire Birkenhead, Merseyside Cambridge Bar Hill, Cambridgeshire Chichester, West Sussex Coatbridge, Scotland Coulsdon, Greater London Crawley, West Sussex Darlington, County Durham Dorking, Surrey Edinburgh Seafield, Scotland Edinburgh Stenhouse, Scotland Fakenham, Norfolk Farnham, Surrey Glasgow London Road, Scotland Hampton, Greater London Hull, East Yorkshire Inverness, Scotland Newbury, Berkshire Newcastle Under Lyme, Staffordshire Norwich, Norfolk Nottingham, Nottinghamshire Perth, Scotland Peterborough, Cambridgeshire Poole, Dorset Stockton, County Durham Warrington, Cheshire Watford, Hertfordshire Wimbledon, Greater London Woking, Surrey

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CTD Tiles Has Gone Into Administration – Some Stores Saved By Topps

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