That was quick. It was only yesterday that we reported on Alpkit's Administration. But the latest news is they have secured new funding. The full presser we just received is below... Today we are announcing a significant financial restructure and new investment to secure our long-term future. Go Nice Places, Do Good Things Our stores are open, our customer orders are being fulfilled, and our lifetime technical guarantee, the Alpine Bond, remains as strong as ever. We’ve spent over two decades building our reputation for innovative products, excellent customer service, social justice and environmental responsibility. Last month we…
That’s good to hear. Too may good companies have gone under recently. Dewerstone clothing (local Dartmoor company) went bust last year. Hopefully Alpkit will pull through.
"We deeply regret the impact on our creditors, partners and shareholders".
That's nice, I'm sure they'll be fine...
I wish I had an Alpkit store near me. I visited the one on Betws y Coed - it was wonderful. Really nice experience. Im a bit of a convert. Glad they’ve got finance organised.
That's nice, I'm sure they'll be fine...
Yep. Does look like a total dodge.
Rescued in 1 day?
Pre planned manoeuvre to avoid liability to creditors.
Hmm.
Edit: are they taking the piss with that press release? continuing to bang on about how virtuous they are. If I was a creditor I'd be really very annoyed about their representation of themselves - probably almost as much as the cash id just lost.
Just had this email message from Alpkit
"There's something remarkable that as co-founders we might have lost everything. But overall we've kept something even rarer. We're still here, jobs are saved. Alpkit is not lost."
with a 10% offer 🤔
That's nice, I'm sure they'll be fine...
Yep. Does look like a total dodge.
Rescued in 1 day?
Pre planned manoeuvre to avoid liability to creditors.
Hmm.
Edit: are they taking the piss with that press release? continuing to bang on about how virtuous they are. If I was a creditor I'd be really very annoyed about their representation of themselves - probably almost as much as the cash id just lost.
Yeah my other half is deeply dischuffed.
I get that creditors aren't happy, but what they've done isn't unlawful and the new creditor was never going to pay out if they didn't need to. Alpkit obviously weren't able to pay up, so the alternative to what has happened was that the company disappears and jobs are lost. Surely what's happened is preferable? If it's seen to be unfair, complain at the law allowing it.
"There's something remarkable that as co-founders we might have lost everything. But overall we've kept something even rarer. We're still here, jobs are saved. Alpkit is not lost."
Have they lost everything?
Unless they had personal guarantees on the bank loans they'll be just fine. And it reads like the new investor has taken those on otherwise the banks would be calling in their guarantees and taking their homes and personal assets.
Not that I want anyone to be homeless (I've been bankrupt myself), but don't come the woe is me act. Pre-packs are an easy way to get rid of your debts and are too easy for companies to use.
The optics of that manoeuvre really aren't great, and I would be mightily annoyed if I were a creditor. But the other side of the coin is that this was a bold, decisive business move that saved jobs and limited broader impact.
We don't really know how close the Firm was to the edge. I'm guessing the approval of Administration status requires the company directors to demonstrate that resources were low and that despite their efforts, they cannot bring the company onto a sustainable trajectory in it's current guise. The fact that no stores are closing and no jobs or orders are being lost certainly points to it being well planned. On balance I'd say it's better to act early to avoid impacts, which would ultimately be more disruptive to the market and wider supply chain.
I got shot down on one of the threads for querying the consideration given to creditors. Of course a pre pack isnt illegal but it does call in to question the values and morals of the owners. Yes, creditors will have lost money if the business failed but maybe the team might have tried to work a bit harder to pay them. As a pre pack (unless PGs in place) they get to walk away and still keep their employment. Great for owners and employees of Alpkit (but presumably new owners might still close the stores and sack staff?). But it's of no help to all the other creditors, many of whom might be small businesses which themselves will now go under or at least have to lose staff.
People are quick to moan when large firms do this but in many ways I think this is equally poor - partly because they have previously sought to build a brand based on their values of being a small company that is more caring than the bigger firms, indeed their share sale was very much done on the basis of investing in the ethos of a 'family' type company.
Seems pretty poor taste to leave loads of creditors and investors empty handed whilst continuing to trade as normal and offering 10% discounts!
I certainly wont be looking to buy from them in the future.
But it's of no help to all the other creditors, many of whom might be small businesses which themselves will now go under or at least have to lose staff.
I worked in a purchasing team who were being pestered, to the point of harassment, to buy goods from a well-known UK brand. We put a relatively small order through to them, on the basis that it's often good to keep good relations, but the company lied about delivery times, marketing assets, and then started selling the goods on their own website at lower than the trade price they'd sold in to us and then carried on pestering us to take more stock. That means that they were happy for us to lose significant money, potentially damaging our company and putting our staff out of work.
Shortly thereafter, a month or so before Xmas, the well know company went bust with the loss of a few dozen jobs, unable to pay creditors etc. A few days later, the company was bought by the same owner who had just run the company into the ground, and a little later he started pestering us to stock his stuff again. We refused to do business with him, the scumbag.
As Christy Moore sang in 1985:
The owner says he's sad to see that things have got so badBut the captains of industry won't let him loseHe still smokes his cigar and he drives a brand new carAnd still he takes his family on a cruise, he'll never lose
Seems pretty poor taste to leave loads of creditors and investors empty handed whilst continuing to trade as normal and offering 10% discounts!
I certainly wont be looking to buy from them in the future.
I liked the original Alpkit model. Limited range of good value basic kit.
While I can't say I will boycott them in future there is certainly no longer any "values" attracting me.
I agree with other comments that entering a crowded bricks and mortar shops market was probably a mistake. Trying to hard to expand beyond a slim online operation?
I get that creditors aren't happy, but what they've done isn't unlawful and the new creditor was never going to pay out if they didn't need to. Alpkit obviously weren't able to pay up, so the alternative to what has happened was that the company disappears and jobs are lost. Surely what's happened is preferable?
Not if the creditor(s) go bust because of cash flow due to their bills not being paid.
Of course, the system has been played (assuming that's the case) and it's all nice and legal but that doesn't make it right and influences people's moral compasses when it comes to where to buy from.
If it's not the case then the need to be better at managing their optics.
Surely what's happened is preferable? If it's seen to be unfair, complain at the law allowing it.
Have you got an email address for that? 🙄
It must be possible to have a system where the creditors who are stiffed by the pre-pack get their money back when the company returns to profit at some time in the future, especially if the same directors / owners benefit from escaping their liabilities.
Capitalism - socialism for the rich.
You’d be hard pressed to find a new owner/investor willing to take on a failing company if they were obliged to pay any future profits to creditors. The company would likely then be left to fail. Leaving creditors AND staff out in the cold. Prepack at least gives one of those two parties a chance.
I get that creditors aren't happy, but what they've done isn't unlawful and the new creditor was never going to pay out if they didn't need to. Alpkit obviously weren't able to pay up, so the alternative to what has happened was that the company disappears and jobs are lost. Surely what's happened is preferable?
Not if the creditor(s) go bust because of cash flow due to their bills not being paid.
Of course, the system has been played (assuming that's the case) and it's all nice and legal but that doesn't make it right and influences people's moral compasses when it comes to where to buy from.
If it's not the case then the need to be better at managing their optics.
Surely what's happened is preferable? If it's seen to be unfair, complain at the law allowing it.
Have you got an email address for that? 🙄
Apologies, by creditors, I meant investors/shareholders (who gamble on turning a profit). I suspect that current bills will be paid to suppliers etc, as a big part of administration is covering such debts - which could here mean the sale of all stock/assets. I'm commenting from the position of someone who doesn't know much, just enough to look daft on a forum. Are suppliers losing out?
Email address? yourlocalmp@housesofparliament.com
I didn't suggest it would be straightforward 🙄
I've had a couple of goes at writing a post on this and another thread to try and explain the general pre pack process from the perspective of someone who actually knows the law and best practice for this type of situation. (To be clear I've no involvement in Alpkit whatsoever).
The problem is every time I try there's so much to explain in terms of the process, the requirements and what it means for those involved that the post becomes unwieldy to the pont I can't really edit and format it.
There's a lack of knowledge on many posters' part about just how much work goes into a pre-pack and how much regulation and best practice needs to be complied with even to select it as the best available option.
I might have another go at a post or two later but for now I'm off to ride a bike.
I’d really appreciate an idiots guide to this @garage-dweller! Definitely don’t eating into valuable riding time for it, but for me the important question is who loses out in this deal? I’m really chuffed that people’s jobs were saved but the idea that alpkit can just put on a fake moustache and carry on as it was seems too good to be true
Ime. If you are a creditor/supplier that they need you will get all or most of your outstanding debt paid by the new company. If they don’t need you, you may get a few pence in the pound after the fees, hmrc and staff are paid.
The difficult bit is when a customer keeps buying when they know they are unlikely to be able to pay.
For instance. Landlords will probably get their rent. The caterer that supplied the lunch when the creditors had a meeting with the bank and Alpkit owners will probably get shafted.