Sussex off-licence business M&O Trading has collapsed into liquidation.
The company ran numerous stores across Sussex and the south coast under brands such as Hartley’s and Mulberrys, and prided itself on working with local suppliers.
Yet it was placed into liquidation after its creditor BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions petitioned to have it wound up in December. The exact number of stores to close is unclear, as some have been sold to new owners and re-opened.
A spokesman for liquidators Antony Batty & Company told The Grocer: “At this time our investigations are ongoing regarding the circumstances of the liquidation and our agents continue to deal with the realisation of assets.”
Documents filed at Companies House show HMRC had also petitioned to wind up the business in the summer of 2018, but the taxman’s petition had subsequently been dismissed. HMRC said it could not comment on identifiable taxpayers or businesses.
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M&O was incorporated in 2007, growing to prominence after the downfall of drinks retail giant Threshers in the wake of the 2008 financial crash, when it bought a raft of former Threshers stores.
Its directors included Shafqat ‘Chas’ Majeed, who, along with his brother Azwar, previously ran Crawley Town Football Club.
The most recent financial results for M&O Trading show sales of £25.2m for an extended trading period from 1 December 2014 to 31 May 2016. No more recent results were available.
A spokeswoman told The Grocer in February 2016 of plans to open a further eight new sites over the following 18 months - despite having closed six in 2015 and 2016, according to its financial documents.
One supplier to Hartley’s suggested the chain had struggled to compete with the growth of new independent retailers in the area and the rise of craft beer and spirits.
They said: “We only dealt with a handful of the stores and never had any issues with payment - they had tried to do a bit of craft and local beer but it was never really big volumes.
“They were too much of a classic off-licence. They clearly weren’t going to make their fortune that way.”
Neither M&O Trading nor BNP Paribas Leasing Solution was available to comment.
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