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UK high street giant collapsed into administration owing 46m

The company entered retail in 1953 but plunged into administration following the pandemic with huge debts and leaving 1,800 employees without jobs

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New reports show the debts of the brand at the time of collapse (Image: Getty Images)

A UK retail giant fell into administration owing more than 46 million as 1,800 employees lost their jobs.

New documents on M&Co highlight the extent of the company's financial issues at the time of collapse.

The high street giant was founded in 1834 as a pawnbroker before entering retail in 1953 as Mackays owned by Len and Ian McGeoch.

The papers show that more than 600 unsecured creditors face losing more than 33m, reports York Press.

The company moved from administration to dissolution in June with the files showing the steps that led to the failure of the firm.

Adele Macleod, Gavin Park and Robert Harding, of Teneo, were earlier appointed joint administrators.

When the pandemic hit M&Co closed 47 stores, with 380 jobs lost at the time.

The family bought back the assets; however, administrators took control again in 2022.

AK Retail-Holdings based in Peterborough, which owns Yours Clothing, acquired the brand, for a sum now revealed as 2.5m and which included its online offering.

Administrators said in the latest report: We adjudicated all claims received and subsequently admitted 608 claims for a total of 34m for dividend purposes, compared with 41m in the directors' statement of affairs.

The maximum prescribed part fund of 800,000 was distributed on March 9, 2026, to non-preferential unsecured creditors, representing a dividend rate of 2.32p in the pound.

Insufficient funds were realised to enable a dividend to be paid to non-preferential unsecured creditors, other than via the prescribed part distribution referred to above.

The administrators added: No further distributions have been made to the pension scheme following Holdings' payment of the outstanding pension scheme debt in August 2024 and its security has been satisfied. Holdings has not been repaid in full in respect of its floating charge security during the administration.

They compared the struggles to those of other retail brands and said the company had not recovered the "post pandemic period".

"In the months prior to administration, the deterioration in trading performance has been compounded by high inflation increasing the company's cost base, and a cost-of-living crisis impacting consumer behaviour.

The company owed over 12m in supplier payments by November 2022, hence, when the administrators were appointed by the directors.

The reports show that secured creditor HUKs debt of 3.3m has been repaid in full and HSBC's secured debt of 8.7m was also repaid. The administrators said 2.6m have been paid in full to HMRC.

The administrators added: It was necessary to make 'ransom' payments to certain third-party creditors whose supplies were considered to be critical to trading strategy, to ensure that services were not discontinued. Payments to ransom creditors totalled 196,000.

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