martes, 18 de diciembre de 2012

Comet backers took £13m in fees as rising losses pushed retailer to brink - Telegraph.co.uk

HAL, funded by a group of US and British investors brought together by Greybull Capital, was a secured creditor to Comet because it lent the company money. It then charged Comet interest on the loaned money.

According to the report, HAL was owed £110m at the time of Comet's collapse on November 2. This means that HAL faces a shortfall of at least £60.3m on the funds its provided.

However, it is unclear from Deloitte's report whether OpCapita and its backers will lose money because the source of the £145m is not brokend down. For example, it is thought to include the £50m dowry from Kesa and a £30m asset-backed loan from a bank.

Comet collapsed after credit insurers pulled support and suppliers tightened their terms for the retailer just as it was preparing to stock up for Christmas, according to the administration report.

Comet lost £31m in the five months to September 30 as it struggled to deal with the economic downturn in the UK and fierce competition from rivals such as Amazon and Dixons.

In the year to April 28, the retailer racked up losses of £95m as sales fell from £1.48m to £1.28bn.

The administration report shows that when administrators were called in, Comet employed 6,895 people. This included 4,783 in its stores, 416 in a call centre, 408 at distribution centres, and 827 in home delivery.

Deloitte is still in talks with south-coast entrepreneur Clive Coombes about a rescue deal for Comet. However, a deal is understood to be unlikely.

The administrators have set a deadline of Tuesday for an agreement with Mr Coombes. If that fails, they will then concentrate on selling the Comet brand and website. Kitchen retailer Appliances Online is interested to acquiring the Comet website.

HAL and OpCapita declined to comment.

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