Turpin Barker Armstrong were approached to advise a chain of pubs facing financial difficulties.

Circumstances   

Whiting & Hammond Limited traded for many years as a highly regarded pub restaurant business operating from seven venues across Kent, East Sussex & Surrey employing around 250 staff.

March 2020 saw the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.  With on-going pressures of the coronavirus pandemic and Government restrictions the business began to suffer.  With no income being generated the company was understandably experiencing financial difficulties.  The nature of operating seven venues with large external areas and substantial buildings to maintain and operate even when closed created ongoing challenges.

It was clear that unless certain elements of the business could be rescued quickly then the business would start to disintegrate and ultimately creditors would suffer including employees.

It was apparent that a Pre-Pack Administration would be the appropriate course of action and the directors engaged our practice to assist.
After independent advice from specialist valuation agents and solicitors and in-depth discussions with the directors it was clear it would not be possible to re-open all seven sites.  It was decided that the best course of action was to rescue three sites via a pre-pack sale with an orderly handover of the remaining sites back to the landlords.

A Pre-Pack administration is a useful and well established insolvency process which enables the quick and efficient sale of a business experiencing financial difficulties.  All or part of the business and assets is negotiated and agreed prior to an Administrator being appointed.   A pre-pack can provide the best outcome for all concerned in appropriate circumstances.

How we helped

•  Three sites sold to maximise realisable value from the business and assets
•  Over 100 jobs saved transferring staff via TUPE to the purchaser
•  Negotiations commenced to assist other landlords deal with the remaining sites