Unsecured Phones 4U creditors to get just 0.4pc back says PwC
UNSECURED creditors to Phones 4U are to receive just 0.4 per cent of their money back after the mobile phone retailer collapsed into administration last year.
Phones 4U called in administrators PwC in September 2014 after two of the UK’s largest mobile phone operators, Vodafone and EE, decided to withdraw their products from its stores.
PwC’s progress report published yesterday revealed that unsecured creditors, including Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and suppliers, will receive “less than” 0.4p in the pound, despite being owed £168m.
However, creditors who own Phones 4U’s £430m senior secured notes – listed on the Irish Stock Exchange – are expected to receive between 20 per cent and 24 per cent of their money back because their debts take priority.
Phones 4U also owed £3.4m to staff, and PwC said it had made significant progress in paying this off. The remainder will be paid in the next six-to-nine months.
After the company went into administration, around 2,000 jobs were saved through a combination of EE and Vodafone taking on units and Dixons Carphone employing staff working at concessions in their stores. The remaining 362 stores were closed, costing 1,697 jobs.