Rent bill forced Officers Club closure

Dec 30 2008 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

A CHRISTMAS Day rent bill of s3.5m led to the administration of a North East menswear chain and, despite 118 of the 150 outlets being saved, more store closures may follow as the recession bites deeper into family budgets.

David Charlton, the man who founded the Officers Club, told The Journal last night why he took the nationwide clothes chain into administration three days before Christmas.

On December 23 it was announced Mr Charlton had set up a new company which had taken over the firms assets, securing 900 jobs, although 32 stores were closed with immediate effect, including those at the MetroCentre and in Sunderland which had the highest rent bills.

Mr Charlton said: With the quarterly rent bill of s3.5m for all of the stores due on Christmas Day we did not have the money to meet that liability.

While we were a cash-rich company with no bank debt and no overdraft, we did not have the money to survive.

The Officers Clubs demise had been brought about by a 10% fall in turnover which had its roots in Octobers banking crisis.

Menswear is one of the first things to be affected when families cut back on spending. Money is still being spent on women and children but it is the man who becomes the first in the family to go without, Mr Charlton said.

The new company established by Mr Charlton TimeC 1215 Limited is based in the same Cramlington headquarters as the previous one.

When the new company emerged from the administration one of its first acts was to pay one months rent on all of the remaining 118 stores.

Negotiations are now taking place with the landlords of the these stores on a mutually favourable way forward, although Mr Charlton could not rule out the possible closure of more stores.

THE British high street has been dealt another blow as fashion retailer USC went into administration, putting 300 jobs at risk.