Victoria Plum Sold To AHK Designs Ltd

Victoria Plum has been bought out of administration by AHK Designs Ltd, an affiliate of a company which owns Beds.co.uk and Cox & Cox.

In 2019, Endless supported Victoria Plum's CEO Paul McClenaghan and the rest of the management team to undertake a management buyout from its existing owners: TPG Capital. Endless backed the management team’s plan to continue investing in its people, digital and retail experience, as well as expanding its product and services offering.  Endless is understood to have put Victoria Plum up for sale in September 2023. 

On 29 September 2023, the Company entered Administration and Samuel James Woodward and Timothy Graham Vance, partners of Ernst & Young LLP, were appointed as Joint Administrators.  Shortly following their appointment, the Joint Administrators completed a sale of the business and certain assets of the Company to AHK Designs Ltd.

The acquisition is understood to include Victoria Plum's head office in Doncaster and nationwide distribution network.  All 300 employees are to transfer to AHK Designs Ltd.  For the year ended 28th February 2022, Victoria Plum's turnover was £113.6m, with pre-tax profit of £736,000.

Industry sources said that in recent months, increased shopping costs and a reduction in consumer spending had affected the company's cashflow and profitability.

AHK Designs' affiliate, Giomani Designs Ltd, is a furniture and homewares manufacturer based in the West Midlands, which owns a number of other e-commerce retailers including Beds.co.uk, Cox & Cox and Moda.

A message to customers, creditors and suppliers on the Victoria Plum website, reads:

Customers

If you placed an order which is yet to arrive, unfortunately the Company is not in a position to fulfil your order.

The Company is also unable to accept any returns or provide any refunds on any goods or orders—this includes any orders where you are yet to receive your goods.

Any claim for a refund will rank as an unsecured claim against the Company. However, you may be able to obtain a refund from your card or finance provider. We have set out below some frequently asked questions in this regard.

If you paid with a credit card over £100

If your payment to the Company was made by credit card for the value of £100 or more, you may be able to make a claim under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act by contacting your card provider to determine if you are eligible to make this claim.

To submit a claim, it is likely your provider will ask for:

(1) A copy of your order confirmation.

(2) Confirmation that the Company was placed into Administration and that there will be no distribution to unsecured creditors. This statement will be made in the Joint Administrators proposals which will be uploaded to https://www.ey.com/en_uk/victoria-plum-limited within 7 days of appointment.

If you paid with a credit card (where the order value is under £100); or, if you paid for your order with a debit card

If your payment to the Company was made using a debit card or credit card under £100, you may be able to make a claim to your bank or card provider under the "chargeback" scheme. Your bank or credit card provider will determine if you are eligible to make this claim. Please note some claims under the chargeback scheme have a time limit so you should speak to your card provider as soon as possible.

To submit a claim, it is likely your provider will ask for:

(1) A copy of your order confirmation.

(2) Confirmation that the Company was placed into Administration and that there will be no distribution to unsecured creditors. This statement will be made in the Joint Administrators proposals which will be uploaded to https://www.ey.com/en_uk/victoria-plum-limited within 7 days of appointment.

If you purchased using Paypal, Klarna, Clearpay, Stripe, Novuna or another finance provider

If you made a purchase using a finance provider, you should contact your finance provider directly to understand what recourse may be available to you.

If you are unable to obtain a refund from any of the above means

In the event you are not able to obtain a refund using the above options, you can submit an unsecured claim in the Administration.

Should you wish to lodge a claim as an unsecured creditor, please email VPAdministration@uk.ey.com. You will then be provided with further details on how to submit your unsecured claim.

For the avoidance of doubt, you should only submit an unsecured claim to the extent your finance provider does not provide recourse to you.

Creditors and suppliers

If you are a supplier or creditor of the Company and you require any further information or assistance in relation to the Administration, please contact the Administrators by email at VPAdministration@uk.ey.com

Should you wish to lodge a claim as an unsecured creditor, please email VPAdministration@uk.ey.com. You will then be provided with further details on how to submit your unsecured claim.

S J Woodward is licensed in the United Kingdom to act as an insolvency practitioner by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and T G Vance is licensed in the United Kingdom to act as an insolvency practitioner by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

The affairs, business and property of the Company are being managed by the Joint Administrators, S J Woodward and T G Vance, who act as agents of the Company only and without personal liability.

The Joint Administrators may act as data controllers of personal data as defined by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (as incorporated in the Data Protection Act 2018), depending upon the specific processing activities undertaken. Ernst & Young LLP and/or the Company may act as a data processor on the instructions of the Joint Administrators. Personal data will be kept secure and processed only for matters relating to the Joint Administrator’s appointment.

The Office Holder Data Privacy Notice can be found at www.ey.com/uk/officeholderprivacy.

Source : Victoria Plum; Insight DIY

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