Simon Thomas, joint administrator, said Moorfields’ had negotiated with 120 different parties, the majority of members of them interested in buying up inventory, and half a dozen looking at the whole business. But in the end Mr Thomas said the business had simply proved too hard to sell.
He told the BBC: “Any potential purchaser would have difficulty in sorting things out, for instance get the rights to use the epithet, which is held by the American parent.
“In addition there are many services provided within the group by different subsidiaries, so if you take over one component you were supposed to make alternative arrangements or negotiate new words. Throw all that together and becomes very complicated.”
Mr Thomas said remaining stock would be discounted further and “it should be an opportunity for people to buy some nice toys at a good price.”
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The administrators said that Toys R Us had outstanding liabilities of around PS300m, including a PS70-90m pension fund shortfall.
US Debt
The US parent company filed for bankruptcy in September and reports suggest it may start closing its 800 storages in the US as early as this week.
The business was bought in 2005 by a group of investors including private equity firms Bain Capital and KKR, which loaded it with some$ 5bn( PS3. 6bn) in debt. The corporation was crippled by interest payments which at times reached $400 m a year.
In the UK Toys R Us joins a long listing of high street retailers including Maplin and Claire’s that have run into difficulties this year.
Many have been hit by changes in consumer spending habits, a squeeze on disposable income, higher inflation and the national living wage, and the future prospects next month of increases in business rates.
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