Waverley collapse leaves drinks trade short £40.5 million
Written by Gemma McKenna   
Monday, 12 November 2012 12:30

Drinks distributor WaverleyTBS collapsed owing £64.6 million to unsecured creditors, with trade creditors facing losses of £40.5 million.

 

The firm entered administration on October 2, and a report filed at Companies House showing the firm’s outstanding debts also states figures are not yet final, given “certain stock held by the company is subject to retention of title claims”.

 

“In estimating the realisable value of stock approximately £10 million has been deducted to reflect this,” it states.

 

Waverley owed HMRC £11.9 million of which £6.1 million was duty; £4.7 million in VAT and £1.06 million in PAYE and National Insurance contributions.

 

The biggest trade creditors listed are DiageoGB at £6.1 million; Heineken at £4.3 million; AB-InBev at £3.5 million and Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands at £2.9 million.

 

FE Barber, trading as Kingsland, which held a bottling contract with the firm, is listed as being owned £1.33 million. But Harpers understands this is currently subject to a legal dispute over whether stocks of bulk wine partway through production are owned by Kingsland or the administrators.

 

Some of the main wine companies affected include Accolade Wines (£741,768); Australian Vintage (£99,738); Cantine Francesco Minini (£404,228); E&J Gallo (£103,545); Castilla La Mancha cooperative Jesús del Perdón (£116,524); Justerini & Brooks (£179,130); Laurent Perrier (£248,948); Moet Hennessy (£652,102) and Chile’s Vina Indomita (£480,771).

 

The report estimates that total assets available for preferential creditors should realise £9.7 million, while the book value of those assets is listed as £72.6 million.

 

Last month, administrator Deloitte told Harpers it was “hopeful of being in a position to pay a dividend to unsecured creditors”.

 

The company’s collapse was attributed to tough conditions in the UK on-trade, pressure on consumer spending and tightening of credit terms.

 

Comments 

 
#1 EWAN MURRAY 2012-11-12 12:43
Always astonished at the amount HMRC are owed whenever a company collapses. And if the wine trade stopped shipping to companies who owed them money, i.e. stuck to agreed credit terms from day one, then perhaps Waverley / Thresher / Oddbins et al might have bucked their ideas up sooner. We only have ourselves to blame. There are plenty of wine companies doing very well, most of whom work within excellent legal, financial and moral boundaries.
 

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