The Foschini Group, which owns brands such as Phase Eight and Hobbs, is said to have written to Joules’ administrators to complain about how it handled the sale of the business.
Reports from Sky News indicate that the South African group has written to Interpath Advisory, appointed administrator to Joules in November, regarding its decision to sell the business to a newly formed joint venture set up by Next and Joules founder Tom Joule after its rescue deal for the Market Harborough retailer looked set to proceed, only for Next to swoop in and snap up the firm at the last minute.
The Foschini Group is now apparently considering lodging a formal complaint with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales over Interpath’s conduct and is understood to have written to lawyers working on the sale, suggesting they may have breached rules from the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
The Foschini Group is also reportedly looking to recover costs from its failed bid.
A spokesperson for the joint administrators told Sky News that they “reject any notion of unfairness,” adding that “TFG were granted a period of exclusivity in which they had the opportunity to conclude a transaction. Despite our best efforts, they were unable to do so within this timeframe.
“Thereafter, a materially better offer for the business was received, which the joint administrators concluded represented the best outcome for the company’s creditors.”
The new company formed by Next and Tom Joule acquired around 100 Joules stores, with approximately 1,450 jobs saved. 19 stores were not part of the transaction and closed immediately. 133 redundancies were therefore made.
