Carpetright collapse leaves 213 million debt had store in Cheltenham

Suppliers, landlords and customers have been left £213m out of pocket following the collapse of Carpetright.

When the flooring specialist went into administration last week, suppliers Betap and Condor were owed £1.9m and £1.1m respectively. Biffa Waste Management was owed £852,000, Royal Mail £372,000, Microsoft was owed £3.1m and DHL £540,000, as reported by Retail Gazette.

But hundreds of unsecured creditors, including Microsoft and Royal Mail, will recover less than 1p in the pound on their debts, according to administrators’ proposals.

Money is also owed to customers who had pre-paid for goods and services.

The retailer’s total liabilities are estimated to be around £338m.

Administrators PwC calculated that Carpetright owed £9m in tax, which it is understood will be paid almost in full.

The retailer’s owner, Nestware Holdings, has a claim of £120m and will be first in line for a pay-out, but it is unlikely to recover any of the cash.

The collapse of Carpetright resulted in 273 store closures, including the store in Cheltenham, with the loss of more 1,500 jobs.

The retailer’s rival, Tapi, snapped up the Carpetright brand, along with 54 stores and two warehouse, including the transfer of 308 members of staff.

It is understood that the 1,893 Carpetright employees who have been made redundant are owed salaries and commissions for June and July. PwC said it is working with the Redundancy Payments Service to make sure they receive their statutory entitlements as soon as possible.