Garden Centre Voluntary Arrangement Solution
A local garden centre business, despite the best efforts of the two partners and a substantial investment, found it very difficult to compete with the large multi-national operations and ceased to trade in January 2005.
The two partners concerned were referred to Cranfield Business Recovery as not only had the garden centre ceased to trade but because they were a partnership, the outstanding liabilities were the personal responsibility of the individual partners.
Cranfield Business Recovery formulated a strategy which involved firstly the advertising and promotion of a special offer weekend at the centre to the general public to sell the stock. So successful was the weekend that on occasion the doors had to be closed because of the customer numbers. Following the sale we found new tenants to take over the prime frontage leasehold premises thereby minimising the liability of the landlord.
The next step was to work with the two partners to prepare proposals to be put to the creditors using interlocking Individual Voluntary Arrangements. The approval of the combined Voluntary Arrangements enabled creditors to receive a significantly better dividend than they would have received had the partnership been wound up and the individual partners made bankrupt.
According to one of the partners, “We were faced with a very difficult decision to stop trading and close the Garden Centre we were running. With the help of the advice given to us by Cranfield Business Recovery and the strategy they implemented, they handled the orderly winding down of the Centre on our behalf and minimised the stress of the whole situation. We didn’t think there was any possibility of being able to have a fresh start to build a future but the help given by Cranfield Business Recovery has given us that opportunity.”
