Hotter’s Unbound Group to appoint administrators, suspend AIM listing

Following the termination of its formal sale process, Unbound Group has announced the intention to appoint administrators to its main operating subsidiary, Beaconsfield Footwear Limited (OpCo).

In a regulatory filing, the company, which owns footwear brand Hotter, said that it was to appoint Will Wright and Rick Harrison of Interpath Advisory Limited as administrators.

Unbound first stated that it would be halting its sales process on June 27, after no potential offers had been approved by the firm and its shareholders.

Since then, the group said that it had sought to progress a formal restructuring plan via an equity fundraise, while also exploring options for one of its shareholders to acquire its bank debt. However, the board ultimately decided that proceeding with such processes was no longer appropriate.

Now, Unbound has confirmed that it will continue discussions with interested parties in regards to the acquisition of OpCo. Each of the proposals are to be put forward by various bidders on the basis of a sale following the appointment of administrators.

Currently, Unbound said that it was expecting the sale of the trade and assets of the subsidiary to a third-party purchaser to shortly follow.

Sale of subsidiary could follow administrator appointment

Next to this, the group also said that it had requested a suspension of trading in its ordinary shares on AIM, pending clarification of its financial position.

The firm noted that it had no operating revenues, however it did currently have minimal cash balances and known creditors of approximately 0.9 million pounds.

Additionally, in light of a possible delay in realising the value of certain investments made by Unbound, the firm said that there was uncertainty as to whether it could pay debts as they are due. This, in turn, led to the potential suspension of its shares, expected to come into effect from August 7.

Now, Unbound will be hosting its annual general meeting on July 31, yet the board noted that it was unlikely that its annual report would be published by the August 5 deadline as a result of the aforementioned issues.