My Local may enter administration: 1,650 jobs at risk
The decision came nine months after My Local was acquired by investment firm Greybull Capital for £25M in cash on September 9 last year from Morrisons.
Auditor KPMG was asked to handle the administration and could be formally appointed next week. The notice appointment to auditors gives Greybull Capital protection from creditors for 10 days.
The 1,650 employees of My Local – previously known as M Local – were briefed yesterday (June 21) on the threat of the company going into administration.
A Morrisons spokesman said: “We are saddened and disappointed to learn that My Local is about to enter administration and we want to help our former colleagues who now work for My Local.
“We can therefore confirm that if no buyer is found, and stores close, we will welcome our former colleagues back to a job at Morrisons.”
Third large retailer
If My Local enters administration, it will be the third large retailer to fall into administration this year, following retail giant BHS and fashion retailer Austin Reed in April this year.
Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (USDAW) national officer Joanne McGuinness said: “My Local staff are devastated by the news that the company is going into administration.
“Having been sold by Morrisons last year, there was a mood of optimism that the new owners could turn around the business.
“We are talking with the company in a bid to save jobs and get the best deal for staff. In the meantime USDAW is providing the support, advice and representation they need at this unsettling time.”
Established in 2011 as a local convenience store division of Morrisons, My Local had 130 stores nationwide.
Range of job losses
The news followed a range of job losses this year in the food and drink sector, some the result of companies entering administration.
A large number of jobs are still at risk after fish supplier Icelandic Seachill lost a contract with Marks & Spencer worth around £50–£60M and ended a 30-year trading relationship with the retailer.
The closure of Müller’s Aberdeen dairy on June 10 caused the loss of 87 jobs. The company said the facility was operating well below capacity.
Meanwhile, a total of 121 employees of Kendal Mint Cake manufacturer Wilson’s were made redundant after the company went into administration following cash-flow problems in February this year.
More than 130 jobs have been lost after B Riley & Sons in Burnley, one of the north of England’s largest independent abattoirs, entered administration.
