Matches debts to luxury brands and suppliers grow to £50m

The fallout from the collapse of Matches has deepened, with documents revealing that creditors - including luxury houses Burberry, Gucci and Prada - are now collectively owed close to £50 million, significantly more than initially estimated.

Matches, which was acquired by Frasers Group in December 2023 and entered administration just three months later, has 956 unsecured creditors, many of them fashion labels and suppliers. New filings at Companies House show that total unsecured debts have surged 62% from the £31 million cited in the original statement of affairs.

Administrator Teneo said the sharp rise is due to claims being submitted at "significantly higher" values than originally forecast, with around 200 additional creditor claims that were not included in the directors’ initial estimate.

While £13.8 million has been paid out to creditors with valid retention of title claims, remaining unsecured creditors, which also include customers, landlords and smaller brands, are expected to recover no more than £600,000 in total. This represents less than 2p for every £1 owed.

Though the latest report does not break down the updated liabilities, earlier filings showed Gucci was owed £553,338, Burberry £467,525, Bottega Veneta £326,564 and Prada £281,069, according to The Times. A number of British fashion names – including Paul Smith, Cefinn, Anya Hindmarch and Joseph – are also among those likely to be owed money.

Matches was founded 35 years ago by Tom and Ruth Chapman, a husband and wife team with impeccable taste and an obsessive attention to detail. The Chapmans extended their retail empire from Wimbledon to other well-heeled London neighbourhoods, such as Richmond upon Thames, Notting Hill, Marylebone and Mayfair. At one point, they even operated stores in London for global brands such as Diane Von Furstenberg and Max Mara, such was their strategic importance.

The retailer entered the world of e-commerce in 2007, with its stock selling out in a matter of days. Matches was purchased by private equity house Apax in 2017 in a deal that reportedly valued it at a cool $1 billion. That's really when the trouble began. By 2023, Frasers Group, which also owns luxury super-boutique chain Flannels, acquired the dwindling business paying just £52 million, a significant discount on the price paid by Apax.

In March 2023, Frasers appointed Teneo as administrator after continuing losses and several brands terminating their relationships. By April, Frasers Group repurchased "certain intellectual property assets" of luxury retailer Matches, but not its stock, just two months after placing it into administration.

Matches’ demise comes amid a broader shake-up in the luxury e-commerce landscape. Farfetch, once a sector leader, was sold to Coupang via a pre-pack deal in 2023, a transaction that wiped out shareholders and many bondholders. Farfetch Limited was placed into liquidation earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Mytheresa recently secured EU regulatory approval to acquire Yoox Net-A-Porter from Richemont - a move that could reshape the digital luxury space, despite YNAP’s ongoing financial losses. Last week, Mytheresa's parent company (MYT Netherlands Parent) announced a newly appointed senior leadership team ahead of its acquisition of YOOX NET-A-PORTER (YNAP). Upon completion, the merged group will be rebranded as LuxExperience B.V. - a new name signalling its ambition to "create the leading, luxury multi-brand digital group for true luxury enthusiasts around the globe".