Energy brokerage Great Annual Savings fell into administration with a deficit of £40.3m, including £28m owed to private equity firm Toscafund.
Insolvency specialists at FRP were appointed to the Seaham firm in May after a restructuring plan put forward by bosses was rejected by the High Court. HMRC had submitted a winding up petition and the new documents show it is owed £7.8m.
More than 100 jobs were lost at the £20m-turnover former Sunderland AFC shirt sponsor which had grown rapidly since its beginnings in 2012. Having encountered difficulties during the pandemic, which led to the furloughing of staff, the firm built up liabilities to the tax office and a restructuring plan including a schedule of payments was proffered.
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A judge in the High Court of Justice Business and Property Courts chose not the sanction the plan, saying the company had not shown that HMRC would not be any worse off under it.
A statement of affairs published at Companies House now shows claims of more than £10.8m from a range of creditors including some North East-based suppliers. The document also includes £1.16m claimed by Great Annual Savings founder and chief executive Bradley Groves.
At the time of the administration, FRP's Allan Kelly, a joint administrator of GAS, said: "GAS had been a profitable, growing business prior to Covid-19 but has been significantly impacted by the pandemic and the subsequent energy market crisis over the last 18 months. The directors put forward one of the first Restructuring Plans for a SME trading business to reduce its liabilities to sustainable levels. However, the court did not sanction the plan and the directors had no alternative but to seek the appointment of administrators.
"Regrettably, this also meant all 115 staff were made redundant on appointment. We’re now supporting impacted staff and preparing for an asset sale."
Most recent accounts for the firm, detailing the year to the end of June 2021, showed turnover of £20.2m and operating profits of £2.3m. Bosses at the time said Covid had significantly reduced business energy usage and even caused closures which had impacted its performance.
