After administration, USC owes 15.2 million to creditors

According to the USC appointed administrators, the struggling retailer owes its creditors 15.2 million pounds. In late 2014, Sports Direct put the brand into administration just to buy it back immediately.

USC appointed Duff & Phelps and Gallagher Partnership as joint administrators on January, 13 before selling the company to Republic, another Sports Direct-owned firm.

The operation wiped clear USC’s 15.3 million pounds debts to staff, suppliers and landlords. Now, creditors of Sports Direct-owned fashion retailer USC are owed a total of 15.2 million pounds according to a report issued by administrators, reported ‘The Independent’.

A creditors report issued by administrators Duff & Phelps states money owed to non-preferential unsecured creditors totalled 15.2 million pounds at the time of going into administration. Of these creditors, trade and expense creditors are owed 14.3 million pounds; HMRC is owed 576,499 pounds and gift vouchers issued by the firm total 286,333 pounds.

It has also emerged that Sports Direct, parent group of USC, first approached administrators over a possible pre-pack administration last November.

Diesel and G-Star amongst worst hit by USC collapse

Administration documents filed with Companies House are expected to be shared by the Scottish Affairs Select Committee, which will question Sports Direct founder and owner, Mike Ashley, and other executives from the group about the administration and the company’s use of zero-hours contracts.

Ian Davidson MP, the Scottish Affairs Committee chairman, said in a press statement that “Following our inquiry into the closure of City Link, we are now inviting USC and Sports Direct management, and Mike Ashley as the directing influence of this group, to meet with the committee.”

The committee said it would be meeting over the next two weeks to consider what to do next if Ashley has either not responded or refused to go to Westminster. It is noteworthy that politicians have the power to officially summon individuals to parliament, should they refuse to attend a committee hearing.

Meanwhile, the taxman will be left nearly 700,000 pounds out of pocket due to the collapse of billionaire Mike Ashley’s fashion chain USC, which is the subject of a parliamentary inquiry, highlighted ‘The Guardian’.

Papers filed with Companies House show that USC owes to HM Revenue & Customs 576,449 pounds in unpaid taxes while staff are owed 106,005 pounds in wages and redundancy pay. As already advanced, formers staff’s pay will be covered by the taxpayer.

However, other suppliers such as Diesel (owed 1.3 million pounds), G-Star (1 million pounds), Converse (657,000 pounds) and Adidas, Henri Lloyd and Liam Gallagher’s Pretty Green fashion line (owed a total of more than 7 million pounds), are unlikely to get their money back, warns the ‘Evening Standard’.