The assets and some stores of collapsed tile retailer and wholesaler Tile Choice have been acquired following its administration.

Roderick Butcher and Richard Goodwin, both from Butcher Woods Corporate Recovery, were appointed as administrators of Tile Choice Limited on 15 January 2024.

Ahead of entering administration, the company suffered from increased overheads as well as a decline in footfall within stores, resulting in a fall in turnover. This coupled with the cost increases led to the company becoming insolvent.

Detailed within its latest trading performance to 30 June 2023, sales reduced to £15.1m from £15.9m the prior year, while its pre-tax profit of £463,000 fell to a loss of £1.1m.

Upon appointment, the business ceased trading from its 18 stores across the East and West Midlands, impacting over 100 jobs, while 540 consumer creditors had placed orders and paid in full.

Administrators said that it could not rescue the company via a pre-pack sale due to being unable to find a purchaser. However, company assets were sold to an unconnected company Stiled Holdings Ltd, trading as ‘Tile Choice’, for a sum of £250,000 following a short marketing period.

This included the licences for 10 stores as well as the head office and warehouse premises.  

Ahead of the sale, administrators received four offers, with the one accepted the most beneficial towards creditors.

As for creditors, preferential employee claims stood at £100,000, which is expected to be repaid from realised assets valuing £544,000. The HMRC is also owed £700,000 and is expected to receive some distribution. Unsecured creditors are owed £5.1m, including a further £894,000 to employees. It is expected creditors will suffer a shortfall of £5.3m.

Tile Choice has now relaunched under the new ownership.