Studio Retail had £80m debts, was sold for just £1

Failed online retailer Studio Retail Group owed more than £80 million when it collapsed into administration and was subsequently sold to Frasers Group for just £1, new documents have revealed.

Information submitted to Companies House (CH) by administrators Teneo show the total consideration for the group was £1 as well as the release of £53.1 million of secured liabilities under its revolving credit facility and ancillary facilities.

Frasers Group then acquired Studio Retail Group's secured lenders' claims against it for around £26.8 million.

The group owed £50m for a revolving credit facility and £3.1 million for other facilities when it entered administration. It also owed around £4.7 million to HMRC and about £1,100 to employees for holiday pay and pension contributions.

Teneo added that it is waiting for a directors' statement regarding how much is owed to unsecured creditors and that “there may be funds available to distribute to unsecured creditors”.

The document showed the firm saw “considerable supply chain disruption during the six months to December 2021, which delayed the receipt of stock into the UK resulting in an inability to meet customer demand and the loss of sales throughout the group's peak, pre-Christmas trading period.

Stock was primarily sourced from Asia with long lead times, and the firm couldn’t cancel late arriving stock, which meant it had a lot of surplus inventory just as Q4 sales stalled.

Studio Retail approached HSBC in January to extend its funding facility but the request was denied.

The problem also meant a number of suppliers put it on stop and credit insurers suggested its cover would be impacted.

Studio Retail had £80m debts, was sold for just £1

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