Made.com top brass proposes member voluntary liquidation

The board of Made.com has proposed formally winding down the business via a member’s voluntary liquidation (MVL). 

Embattled retailer Made said this would enable company-appointed liquidators to assess its remaining assets pending completion of the administration. 

The group collapsed into administration in November after seeing sales fall and customers pulling back on big-ticket purchases. 

Next swiftly snapped up its brand, domain names and intellectual property for £3.4million. 

Proposal: The board of Made.com has proposed formally winding down the business via a member’s voluntary liquidation

Shares in Made were suspended on 1 November, as the retailer said it expected its listing to be cancelled and the company wound up.

Made had been undertaking a strategic review, including a formal sale process, which was terminated on 27 October as it had become apparent that there was no reasonable prospect that an offer would be made.

On the potential benefits of a MVL, Made said: ‘This will enable liquidators appointed by the Company to realise the Company’s remaining assets pending completion of the administration of MDL and for the Company to save the ongoing costs of a listed company in this period (as entry into the Members’ Voluntary Liquidation will result in the listing of the Company’s shares on the Official List being cancelled).’ 

Any residual value would then be distributed to shareholders and the company wound-up in due course, the retailer said. 

Today, Made issued a circular outlining the full details of the proposal and has urged shareholders to vote in favour of the relevant resolutions.

The group said: ‘The Circular includes a notice of a general meeting of the Company to be held on 16 January 2023 at 8:00am at the offices of Herbert Smith Freehills LLP, Exchange House, Primrose Street, London, EC2A 2EG, United Kingdom (“General Meeting”) to consider resolutions to approve the Proposal.’ 

While a MVL is initiated by the company’s directors, it still requires 75 per cent of shareholders who have been given notice of the meeting of members to pass the winding-up resolution 

Made.com posted a loss before tax of £35.3million for the six months to 30 June, against a loss of £10.1million the year before. 

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: ‘Made.com is among the latest victims of the demise of the high street as rising cost inflation and the consumer slowdown damages the retail sector. 

‘The furniture company benefitted from a pandemic DIY boom, prompting the business to float on the LSE last June. 

‘However since then it has been dealing with headwinds from the fading post-pandemic interior design boom, problems with the global supply chain that negatively impacted delivery times and the cost-of-living crisis which is squeezing households budgets.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk