Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Wrapit’s administrators are investigating whether the business was trading insolvently before its collapse last week, The Sunday Times reported yesterday.
If the wedding list company were found to be trading illegally in this way, the directors could be held personally liable.
Wrapit’s administrators, KPMG, are also examining the conduct of its management in the months leading up to its failure, according to The Sunday Times.
KPMG will be reporting its findings to the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
Meanwhile, KPMG are thought to have given up on finding a buyer for the business and are selling some of its assets.
And talks with department stores on the possibility of a rescue voucher scheme for affected newly-weds have come to nothing.
More details have also now emerged about Wrapit’s financial crisis, revealing a situation far worse than first realised.
The company has debts of £6.6m, rather than the £3.5m originally stated by Wrapit’s bank HSBC. £5m is down to outstanding orders, while £1.6m is owed to trade creditors, including housewares suppliers.
It is also claimed that warning bells about Wrapit started to ring at HSBC as long ago as 2006, when the number of people complaining about non-delivery of goods began to rise.
Despite Wrapit co-founders Peter Gelardi and Pepita Diamand’s blaming the bank for the company’s failure, the wrath of customers and the media is now focused firmly on the two directors.
Some newly-weds are reported to be planning taking them to court.
