Joules back on track to repay £5.9m in tax from asset sales

Joules, which was acquired by Next in 2022 after falling into administration, is seeking to repay its creditors and the sale of its assets is said to be delivering a full repayment of £5.9 million in tax due to HM Revenue & Customs.

Joules was founded in 1989 when Tom Joule began selling clothing on a stall at a country show in Leicestershire. Since then, the brand has branched out across the UK and Ireland, selling menswear, womenswear, kidswear and accessories. In 2016, Joules was successfully floated on the stock market, valued at £140 million.

In November 2022, Joules collapsed into administration after failing to secure refinancing. At the time, the company appointed Will Wright, Ryan Grant and Chris Pole of advisory firm Interpath Limited as joint administrators in the hope of saving the 1,600 jobs under threat.

In December of the same year, Next agreed to buy the business for £34 million, as well as £7 million for the current Joules head office building. Next will own 74% of the equity with the remaining 26% owned by Tom Joule.

According to The Times, Joules collapsed owing more than £100 million to clothing suppliers, landlords and the holders of gift cards. Clothing and fabric suppliers were owed £38.6 million and associated property companies were owed £3.8 million. Gift card holders were owed £1.3 million.

Interpath’s restructuring advisers initially thought that a payout to HMRC was unlikely, but that they now expected to deliver a full repayment as the liquidation of the company’s assets continued.

Joules is one of the many fallen soldiers in recent years, after losing the battle against the pandemic. Retail industry suppliers have lost billions after the pandemic forced countless retailers to fall into administration. Debenhams owes clothing suppliers, landlords and lenders £1.3 billion and Oasis and Warehouse Group is £29.97 million in debt, according to administrators’ reports.