PIC: FT
Suppliers to Jamie’s Italian received little from the £83million debt after collapse – but multi-millionaire Jamie Oliver gets £1.75m pay-off
Many is business believe the administration system of collapsed companies is in need of reform due to the much-criticised pre-pack system, phoenix companies and the way unsecured suppliers are treated.
The criticism will only increase after it was revealed that when Jamie’s Italian chain of 22 restaurants went bust in 2018 suppliers of food, drink and a wealth of services to the TV chef were left with little or nothing. And the company owed £83million but following work by administrators KPMG only £600,000 is left to pay a tiny amount of cash to a long list of suppliers.
However, Oliver’s holding company received a £1.75m windfall from KPMG as the holding company had ploughed £15m into the ailing company in a bid to save the collapsing chain.
Writing in the Mail Online Katie Feehan reported: “In January last year, the company's administrator KPMG revealed that the majority of the £83million owed to secured and unsecured creditors such as food suppliers, councils and landlords would not be recovered.
“Auditors said that while three of Jamie's Italian restaurants and delis at Gatwick Airport remain open, the people owed money for the past eight months are likely to be significantly out of pocket.
“Now it has emerged that unsecured creditors, such as the suppliers owed millions, will have to share £600,000 that has been set aside for their claims. One of the largest debts to a supplier is the £221,494 run up by the chain with Direct Meats, based in Essex.”
Ian Carrotte of ICSM said the list of 288 creditors included printers, couriers, cleaners and landlords including local authorities who leased premises to Oliver. He said: “This is a classic case of suppliers being hoodwinked by a famous name and allowing their credit terms to be broken. It doesn’t matter how big a company is suppliers should never fall for the ‘do you know who I am’ line. Big and famous names go bust and they should only be judged on whether they pay their bills on time – and not on how big they are on TV. Frankly this case stinks as many small businesses will get next to nothing.”
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For details for the work of the journalist Harry Mottram visit www.harrymottram.co.uk