A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations


Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop in Administration Threat

in A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations Retail

Update 5th January 2026For the second time Claire's has filed an intention to appoint administrators and the owner Modella Capital has also done the same for the Original Factory Shop.  This puts 2500 jobs at risk and is another blow to jobs in the High Street. Modella Capital bought the chain out of administration only in September 2025.  In a statement Modella said there had been a huge drop off in trade and that administration was the only option.----------------------------It has been reported that Claire's, the fashion accessories chain, has filed an intention to appoint administrators at the court today.  Interpath have been lined up to try and rescue the company, the move puts 2,150 jobs at risk.​​​​​The company has 278 shops in the UK and 28 in Ireland but has been struggling with falling sales and fierce competition.  The US arm of the company has already gone into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.Claire's said all outlets will continue trading while administrators at Interpath said they will "assess options for the company" once appointed.​Mr Cramer, the chief executive, said: “This decision, while difficult, is part of our broader effort to protect the long-term value of Claire’s across all markets.”Mr Wright at Interpath said: “Over the coming weeks, we will endeavour to continue to operate all stores as a going concern for as long as we can, while we assess options for the company.”​​The UK chain sits as part of the Claire’s empire, which stems from a base in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois.Claire’s French business, which has 239 stores, was forced to call in receivers last month.As such, it isn't really a UK specific problem.  The main issue has been that the teenagers and "tweens" who have been the bedrock of Claire's customer base worldwide now buy their "accessories" online, via influencers and from the likes of Temu and Shein.Many retailers have used CVAs to try and reduce costs but in the case of Claire's the problems were probably too deep and the benefit of exiting a few leases or reducing rents was not going to be enough.​A loan of £355m is due to be paid back in December 2026 and it is likely that the lenders ( who are secured so not bound by a CVA ) felt that time was up.  The last 3 years the company has lost £25m and turnover has fallen to £137m

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Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop in Administration Threat
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TGI Fridays Expected To Do A Pre Pack Administration

in A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations Retail What Does Going Into Administration Mean?

Update 5th January 2026It is understood that TGI Fridays is likely to be sold next week in a Pre Pack Administration.  It is reported that about 15-20 stores may close.  This will mean the majority of the estate will disappear.  It is expected that there will be hundreds of redundancies amongst the 2000 staff.Sugarloaf acquired the chain from Breal Capital and Calveton UK in October of this year and immediately sought to sell it. However, it has been reported that the company filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on the 5th of December. 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 Expected To Do A Pre Pack Administration

LK Bennett in Administration Move

in A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations News Retail What Does Going Into Administration Mean?

LK Bennett filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators before Christmas.  As such, it looks like the company is going into administration for the second time. What has happened? Following the last administration the firm was ultimately acquired by Rebecca Feng, who ran the brand’s franchises in China, through Byland UK.  The estate was reduced to just 9 stores.Following the acquisition, the firm initially experienced growth, expanding into new categories such as bridal wear, opening stores in key locations, returning to profitability and moving its flagship store and headquarters to Bond Street in London.  However it looks like its success was shortlived.LK Bennett, has 9 stores in the UK and employs 500 people.  The company are struggling financially, and looking to close if no new funding can be found.Problems on the High Street have been well documented recently with high rents and rates, uncertainty, and increases in minimum wages.The Duchess of Cambridge has been a big fan of the brand and so to have been many middle class affluent shoppers.  Ms Bennett was described as the "queen of the kitten heel"  However this time it looks likely to be gone forever on the High Street.

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LK Bennett in Administration Move
construction site

Northumberland Firm Merit Goes Into Administration

in A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations Construction Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators

Update 19th NovemberOffsite construction specialist Merit has ceased trading after entering administration, resulting in the loss of most of its 340 jobs.James Lumb and Will Wright of Interpath were appointed as joint administrators to Merit Health Limited and Merit Holdings Limited on 17th and 18th November respectively.The Northumberland Gazette has reported that A Cramlington-based construction company has taken action to “protect the position of the business” after a winding-up petition from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).Merit Group Services Limited has filed a Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators, saying the petition caused project delays and “significant additional pressure” on cashflow, though it remains “confident that a solution to this difficult situation can be found.”The company heads a group of 16, including Merit Holdings, which is working with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust on the £35m Berwick Community Hospital and a medicines manufacturing unit at Seaton Delaval. Some of the hospital units have been built at Merit’s Cramlington site and transported to Berwick for installation.A Merit spokesperson said: “The recent filing of a winding up petition against Merit Group Services resulted in certain customer projects experiencing delays, which in turn has placed significant additional pressure on the group’s cashflow.“We have therefore taken the decision to file a Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators in order to protect the position of the business while we explore options. We remain confident that a solution to this difficult situation can be found.”HMRC has not disclosed its reasons for the petition, saying such action is only taken “once we’ve exhausted all other options.”A trust spokesperson said: “Northumbria Healthcare has been made aware that Merit has filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator. This is a very unfortunate situation and we appreciate that this will be a very difficult time for all involved.“The trust is continuing to work in partnership with the organisation and its advisers, and has adhered to the contractual agreements in place.“We have robust plans in place to ensure construction work continues to progress both the Berwick Community Hospital and Medicines Manufacturing Centre at Seaton Delaval.“We remain focused on delivering both projects as planned and are in on-going dialogue with all relevant parties to ensure continuity and minimise any potential disruption.”Construction businesses have the highest insolvency rates in part due to the "lumpy" nature of their income, complex contracts and unforseen construction problems.See how RMT has saved construction companies using our innovative turnaround techniques.  We also have an office in Berwick!

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Northumberland Firm Merit Goes Into Administration

Arnold Laver In Administration Threat

in A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations Retail What Does Going Into Administration Mean?

National Timber Group England Files Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators National Timber Group England, one of the UK’s largest timber suppliers, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators, putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk as the business seeks urgent restructuring and rescue options. The Sheffield-headquartered division, based on Bramall Lane, forms part of National Timber Group Midco, which has also submitted a notice of intention to appoint administrators, indicating financial challenges across the wider group. The business operates a nationwide network of timber distribution and processing sites, trading under several well-known sector brands including Arnold Laver, National Timber Systems, SV Timber and NORclad. Branches in Alfreton, Nottingham and Leicester are among those expected to be impacted.The Financials The group’s most recent accounts, covering the year ending 31 December 2023, reported: Turnover: more than £196 million Pre-tax losses: £6.3 million Headcount: over 1,000 employeesDespite its scale and longstanding market presence, rising costs and weakening demand across the construction sector have contributed to sustained trading pressures.A Century-Old Timber Business National Timber Group England traces its origins back to 1920, when it was founded in Sheffield by Arnold Laver. Over more than a century, it has grown into a major supplier to: joinery manufacturers housebuilders and contractors large-scale infrastructure projectsThe business is supported by extensive warehousing, processing and distribution capabilities, making it a critical part of the UK timber supply chain.What the Notice of Intention Means A Notice of Intention (NOI) to appoint administrators typically provides the company with a short period of protection from creditor action. During this time, options may be explored including: a refinancing or investment deal a sale of the business a restructuring process such as a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) a trading administration if no buyer is found immediatelyThe goal is generally to preserve as much of the business and employment as possible.Sector Impact The construction materials sector has faced sustained challenges, including: reduced housebuilding activity inflationary pressures on imported timber higher financing and logistics costs contractor insolvencies affecting supply-chain payment cyclesNational Timber Group England’s situation is likely to have implications for timber availability and pricing, particularly for joinery and housing developers.Next Steps Administrators are expected to be formally appointed once the NOI period ends, unless a rescue option is secured beforehand. Suppliers, customers and employees are awaiting further updates as the restructuring process progresses.

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Arnold Laver In Administration Threat

Pizza Hut Goes Into Administration According To Reports

in A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations Retail

TheBusinessDesk.com has reported that Pizza Hut has gone into administration less than a year after a rescue plan.FTI has been appointed as administrators by DC London Pie Ltd, the business established to manage Pizza Hut UK following a pre-pack agreement. Six weeks after HMRC filed a winding-up petition against the company, the action was taken.Yum! III (UK) Limited, the applicant for today's filing, is a division of Yum! Brands, Inc., an American food outlet operator based in Louisville, Kentucky, which is in control of the company.Last year, 3,000 jobs were spared when Directional Capital, which controlled franchises in Sweden and Denmark, purchased the 139 restaurants in a pre-pack deal.Investor Pricoa Capital, which had supported a management buyout, was owed over £40 million when Pizza Hut UK's former owner, Heart with Smart Limited, went bust.Pizza Hut is to close 68 restaurants and 11 delivery sites with the loss of 1,210 jobs after falling into administration.However, Pizza Hut's global owner Yum! Brands has agreed to save 64 restaurants in the UK, preserving 1,276 jobs.​

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Pizza Hut Goes Into Administration According To Reports
PPe

PPE Medpro in Administration Move

in A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations Retail

PPE Medpro Limited, linked to Michelle Mone and Douglas Barrowman has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators.  This follows the judgement by the High Court today that they must repay the government £122m for supplying non-compliant surgical gowns to the NHS.It should be noted that the intention to appoint administrators is a way of protecting the company from aggressive creditor actions, such as winding up petitions.  It gives the company protection for 10 days whilst it tries to rescue the business.  This might be additional finance or a sale.However, following the loss of the High Court battle many will ask can the government get its money back.  There may be legal appeals, so it may not be the end of the matter.  However, if the company does go into administration, which needs to be likely in order to be allowed to file the "intention" then it will be difficult to get money back.  The company only has assets of £666k having spent £4.2m on legal fees.The company will be run by the admistrators and most likely put into liquidation very quickly as it cannot trade.  The liquidators will then have to go through all the books and records and investigate the conduct of the directors etc.  If, and it is a very BIG if, the liquidators find wrongdoing on behalf of the directors then they may be able to claim against the personal wealth of the directors or ex-directors (not Mone or Barrowman as they were never directors).  The liquidators would have to PROVE that they were fraudulent and wilfully negligent in the handling of the business/contract.  There is or has been NO suggestion that this is the case.  The argument centred around the contract and what was agreed that should be supplied.People will be angry that the PPE was not fit (according to the NHS) but that does not mean that it was the directors fault and they should be held liable.  This is simply a breach of contract case.It is worth remembering the extraordinary circumstances in which PPE procurement took place. Many companies and individuals came forward in good faith, wanting to help meet urgent demand in the Pandemic. With the pace and pressure of the situation, it was almost inevitable that misunderstandings etc would happen​.Here is what Michelle Mone had to say about the case"Today’s judgment against PPE Medpro is shocking but all too predictable. It is nothing less than an Establishment win for the Government in a case that was too big for them to lose. According to the judgment, PPE Medpro won its original pleaded case, having spent 4.5 years and £4.4 million defending it. However, on the opening day of trial, the Government pivoted to an entirely new argument, one that had never been pleaded beforehand. They claimed there was a lack of original “source documentation” around sterilisation, even though seven fully accredited sterilisation plants supplied gowns to other Governments and suppliers worldwide throughout the pandemic, without an issue. This quantum leap of faith on the part of the judge gave the government an overall win.  To use a simple analogy,  if a car looks, feels, and drives like, say, a Range Rover, then unless you can show how the car is assembled by the manufacturer, it’s not a Range Rover! That’s essentially what the judgment states, which contradicts all the evidence presented in court during the month-long trial in June of this year.   I've attached the complete press release from my husband’s spokesperson for your review. It lays bare the injustice of this judgment and the Establishment cover-up behind it."​

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PPE Medpro in Administration Move

Lindsey Oil refinery owner Prax goes into administration

in A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations Energy News

Lindsey oil refinery owner Prax falls into administration as ministers urged to intervene One of the UK’s largest oil refineries – and the only big one owned by a British company – has collapsed into administration, prompting urgent calls for government intervention to protect fuel supplies and jobs. State Oil, owner of the Prax Lindsey refinery in north Lincolnshire, called in administrators on Monday, according to Sky News. The company’s 5.4m tonne-a-year capacity represents nearly a tenth of the national total. About 180 people work at State Oil and 440 at the refinery. State Oil is part of Prax Group, majority owned by Winston and Arani Soosaipillai, who bought it from French oil group Total in 2021. Prax Lindsey is the only UK-owned major refinery; others have US and Indian owners. Prax also has oilfield investments in Shetland and owns about 200 petrol stations under the Breeze and Harvest Energy brands, which are not affected by the insolvency. FTI Consulting and Teneo have been appointed by the government’s official receiver to manage the refinery and act as administrator. Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said: “The Lindsey oil refinery is strategically important, and the government must intervene immediately to protect workers and fuel supplies. Unite has constantly warned the government that its policies have placed the oil and industry on a cliff edge. It has failed to act and instead put its fingers in its ears. The government needs a short-term strategy to keep Lindsey operating and a sustainable long-term plan to fully protect all oil and gas workers.” Teneo said: “On 30 June 2025, the high court appointed the official receiver as liquidator [and] appointed special administrators from FTI Consulting LLP to assist the liquidator in ensuring the continued safe operation of the site.” Joint administrator Clare Boardman said all options would be considered, including a sale of Prax’s upstream business and retail operations in the UK and Europe, which remain outside insolvency. Prax’s upstream business includes the Lancaster oilfield in the North Sea, a complex project still in early production. This is the second time in four years Prax Lindsey’s finances have drawn government attention. In 2021, it swung from a £1.9m profit to a £228m loss due to the pandemic. That year, Total sold the refinery to Prax, then a rapidly growing company headquartered in Surrey. Its controlling party, Winston Soosaipillai (also known as Sanjeev Kumar), has almost no public profile. This appears to be a Special AdministrationWhat is Special Administration? ​​ Similar to ordinary administration, special administration means giving control of the company to administrators who will take steps to turn a company’s situation around if possible – or to wind it down in the most efficient manner. However in a special administration, client assets must be recovered as soon as possible. Also the running of the company must be done in a way that does not impact the users of the services too much. This is due to the strategic importance of the company. As such large banks (Lehman Brothers) energy companies, hospitals, or other national utilities tend to go into a special administration. Given there are worries about panic buying fuel at forecourts this seems sensible.  Special administration is actually run by a court process a bit like Chapter 11 in the USA. This means the administration can take longer.

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Lindsey Oil refinery owner Prax goes into administration

River Island To Restructure To Avoid Going Bust – Stores To Close

in A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations Retail

Update11th AugustThe court has approved the restructuring plan and here is the list of stores to closeFull list of stores on closure list:Beckton Bangor Bloomfield Wrexham Edinburgh Princes Street Hereford Surrey Quays Didcot Sutton Coldfield Aylesbury Burton-Upon-Trent Northwich Taunton Workington Falkirk Cumbernauld Kirkcaldy Gloucester Hartlepool Brighton Lisburn Norwich Oxford Poole Kilmarnock Hanley Barnstaple Grimsby Leeds Birstall Park Rochdale Great Yarmouth St Helens Stockton On Tees PerthAccording to reports, River Island becomes the latest retailer to look at Restructuring Plan as a way to avoid going bust. Just after the Covid Pandemic it was considering a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA).A Restructuring Plan binds all creditors not just the unsecured ones.  It is similar to a Scheme of Arrangement and is governed by the Companies Act 2006.  Creditors will vote and the scheme has to be approved by the court.  In a restructuring plan dissenting voters can be forced to accept the plan under what is known as a cross-class cramdown.Hundreds of jobs may go and some 33 stores are likely to close.  If you are worried about redundancy then we have this guide pageNegotiations with landlords may see further stores close.  More soon. 

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River Island To Restructure To Avoid Going Bust – Stores To Close

Could Thames Water Go Into Administration?

in A guide for redundant employees in administration or insolvency situations Construction News

Sky news has said that FTI Consulting have been lined up by the government as special administrators should the troubled utility firm not secure the funding it needs. Any appointment would need to be approved by the court thoughPeople are understandably worried that Thames Water might go into administration.  So what does this mean?  First of all the process that it would find itself subject to be something called Special Administration. What is Special Administration? ​​ Similar to ordinary administration, special administration means giving control of the company to administrators who will take steps to turn a company’s situation around if possible – or to wind it down in the most efficient manner.However in a special administration, client assets must be recovered as soon as possible.  Also the running of the company must be done in a way that does not impact the users of the services too much.  This is due to the strategic importance of the company.  As such large banks (Lehman Brothers) energy companies, hospitals, or other national utilities tend to go into a special administration. Special administration is actually run by a court process a bit like Chapter 11 in the USA.  This means the administration can take longer. Why is Thames Water in the news now? Basically there was a deal for KKR (A private equity firm in the US) to inject much needed cash into the company.  However it pulled out today putting the company's future in doubt.​Thames Water chairman Sir Adrian Montague said that while KKR's withdrawal was "disappointing, we continue to believe that a sustainable recapitalisation of the company is in the best interests of all stakeholders and continue to work with our creditors and stakeholders to achieve that goal"."The company will therefore progress discussions on the senior creditors' plan with Ofwat and other stakeholders."Thames Water has a £16bn debt pile.  In any administration the idea is that the business is sold to a buyer.  Obviously in the case of Thames Water the only realistic buyer, if no one is prepared to invest in it, is the Government - meaning nationalisation.In any special administration there will be no interruption to any supplies but there could be job losses.  If you are an employee and worried about what might happen then look at our guide for redundant employees 

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Could Thames Water Go Into Administration?