Carpetright suppliers, customers and landlords have been left £213m out of pocket following the chain’s collapse.
Hundreds of unsecured creditors,including Royal Mail and Microsoft, are set to recover less than 1p in the pound on their debts, according to administrators’ proposals seen by The Times.
When the flooring specialist collapsed last week, carpet suppliers Betap and Condor were owed £1.9m and £1.1m respectively. Microsoft was owed £3.1m, Biffa Waste Management £852,000, Royal Mail £372,000, and DHL £540,000.
The £213m total also includes amounts owed to Carpetright customers who had prepaid for goods and services, though this figure was not specifically broken down.
According to the document, the retailer’s total liabilities are estimated to be worth about £338m.
Administrators at PwC calculated that the taxman was owed £9m, but it is understood that this debt will be paid almost in full.
As a secured creditor, Carpetright’s owner Nestware Holdings is first in line for a payout, with a claim of £120m. However, proposals indicate it is unlikely to recover any of the money.
Nestware is owned by Meditor, a British hedge fund led by asset manager Talal Shakerchi.
Shakerchi has faced scrutiny for placing £12m of secured debt into the company in December in exchange for Carpetright’s intellectual property, which he transferred to Nestware.
Carpetright collapsed into administration earlier this month, resulting in the closure of 273 stores and more than 1,500 job losses.
The chain’s biggest rival Tapi snapped up the Carpetright brand, as well as two warehouses and 54 stores out of administration, which included the transfer of 308 employees.
It is understood that the 1,893 Carpetright employees, which were not included in the deal and have been made redundant, are owed their salaries and commissions for both June and July.
PwC said it was working closely with the Redundancy Payments Service to ensure that those affected would receive their statutory entitlements as soon as possible
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