Clive Peeters goes under
Clive Peeters Limited (CPR) was placed in voluntary administration this afternoon after the company’s shares had been placed in trading halt earlier in the day as it held talks with financiers. The electrical appliances retailer said it has appointed Colin Nicol, Keith Crawford and Matthew Caddy of McGrathNicol as its voluntary administrators.
In a statement released by McGrathNicol, it said "the administrators are conducting an urgent appraisal of the company’s affairs to investigate the circumstances leading to their appointment and to determine whether the underlying business can be preserved such that all relevant options including a Deed of Company Arrangement and/or a sale of business can be fully explored".
Mr Nicol said they are mindful that many stakeholders would be affected by the appointment of voluntary administrators, including employees, suppliers and other creditors, customers, lessors and shareholders.
“It is hoped that the business can be stabilised and can continue to trade in one form or another beyond this administration,” Mr Nicol said.
McGrathNicol said a first meeting of the creditors of Clive Peeters must be convened no later than Friday, 28 May 2010.
On May 4 Clive Peeters said, in its trading update, that it expected to post a loss of about $4.5 million for the March quarter, compared to a $600,000 loss a year earlier.
”While full trading results for April 2010 are not yet available, April sales have further deteriorated with the result that the April 2010 operating loss after tax is likely to have increased compared to previous months,” the company said at the time.
Clive Peeters said the receding effect of the Government stimulus packages and interest rate increases implemented up to that time, with the possibility of more to follow, had begun to affect consumer spending.
Managing director, Greg Smith, said the combination of very subdued sales and margin pressures would materially impact the trading outlook of the company over H2 2010.
Clive Peeters shares have been suspended from official quotation.
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