Wed, 26 Mar 2014 | ADMINISTRATION
Pawnbroker Albermale & Bond has fallen into administration, with 1,000 jobs at risk as a result.
The professional services company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) announced yesterday (25 March) that it had been appointed as the group’s administrators. The firm stated that it would now be trying to sell all or part of the business.
The decision was made after Albermale & Bond, the UK’s second largest pawnbrokers, stated on Monday that it would not seek an extension to a 31 March restructuring deadline set by its banks. The group was founded in 1983, it has 183 stores across the UK and employs around 1,000 staff.
Following what the Financial Times stated was “an overhasty expansion”, falling gold prices saw Albermale fall into financial difficulties and accumulate debt. The pawnbroker was unsuccessfully put up for sale in November 2013 and is even reported to have attempted to melt down gold stock to raise cash to pay off loans.
Mike Jervis, joint administrator and partner at PwC, said: “Our priority is to keep all pledged items safe and available for redemption as normal. We plan to sell all or part of the business to protect as many jobs as possible and we have already paid, or will be paying all staff – including accrued bonuses – as normal in March.”
He added: “Also, all landlords have been paid. However, some redundancies may be necessary depending on the outcome of efforts to sell the business. Every branch will initially remain open as sale discussions progress. This also enables customers to continue to redeem their goods as normal as they pay off their loans.”
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