Deal for Cramlington firm saves 1,000 jobs

Posted by The Journal on Dec 24, 08 10:29 AM in News

More than 1,000 staff from a stricken North East-based menswear chain have had their jobs secured following a buy-out dramatically announced last night.

Dave Charlton, pictured in 2002, of The Officer's Club

A company backed by David Charlton, pictured, chief executive of Cramlington-based The Officers Club, said it was buying 118 of the 150 stores owned by the company, which went into administration yesterday.

Ian Green, Steve Ellis and Nick Reed of auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers were appointed as joint administrators of The Officers Club Limited and last night issued the following statement:

"Immediately following their appointment, they (the administrators) were pleased to announce a sale of a significant proportion of the business and assets of the companies to TimeC 1215 Limited.

"The Officers Club is a high street menswear retailer with 150 stores throughout the United Kingdom including those operating under the Petroleum brand, with head offices in Cramlington.

Like many retail clothing chains The Officers Club has been facing stiff competition, making trading conditions even more difficult.

"TimeC 1215 Limited, a company backed by David Charlton, the chief executive of The Officers Club, has purchased the business and assets of 118 out of the 150 stores operated by the Companies, securing the continued employment of over 1,000 members of staff across the UK."

Ian Green, joint administrator and partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Leeds said: "The sale to TimeC 1215 Limited represents a significantly better result for the creditors of the companies than any other alternative."

Mr Charlton, a former accountant who started The Officers Club in Sunderland in the early 1990s and sourced clothes cheaply from Asia, selling them under its own-brand labels, said: "We are very pleased to be able to secure this deal and protect the employment of over 900 people in the stores and head office.

"We welcome the opportunity to take the business forward and look forward to a successful future."

The 32 stores excluded from the sale will be closed with immediate effect.

The news about the Officers club came the same day a senior economist raised doubts over Gordon Brown's £12.5bn VAT cut - branding it "not a good idea".

Olivier Blanchard, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), insisted it did not give consumers a real incentive to spend.

His comments, in an interview with a French newspaper, were seized on by the Tories as lending weight to their argument that the move will not be effective.

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