Manufacturer and supplier of kitchen, bedroom and bathroom fitted furniture, Kelvin KBB, suffered years of losses and experienced increased creditor pressure in the build up to its administration.
Benjamin Cairns and Michael Magnay, of Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP, were appointed as joint administrators of Kelvin KBB Limited on 26 June 2026.
Ahead of entering administration, the company had experienced several years of losses, with the current period to 30 April 2026 incurring a loss of £325,000.
As a result, two significant historical liabilities existed and a number of other creditors had overdue balances and were commencing action to recover these debts.
The Directors received correspondence from HMRC in March 2026, stating it intended to issue a winding up petition in relation to historical PAYE liabilities. Management worked with other material creditors to present a TTP proposal to HMRC that it considered affordable and fair to all creditors but this was rejected by HMRC on 27 May 2026.
The business moved to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the start of June 2026, while the HMRC submitted a petition to wind up the company on 15 June 2025, which was subsequently withdrawn.
Upon entering administration, administrators completed a sale of the business and assets to Newco AMJ Limited for a total consideration of £152,000. Of this amount, £69,000 has been realised on appointment, with a further £83,000 due to be realised in five equal instalments commencing 40 days post-completion, with a fixed long-stop payment date of no later than 60 days from the completion date.
Newco AMJ Limited was incorporated on 9 June 2026 and is owned by common directorship. As a result of the pre-packaged sale, 58 members of staff were transferred, in accordance with TUPE on the date of completion, with all material company assets included in the transaction.
With regards to creditors, the liability of £183,000 owed secured creditor Bibby has been transferred as part of the sale, while funds of £162,000 owed to Close are expected to suffer a shortfall. Preferential creditor claims include almost £1m owed to the HMRC, while unsecured creditors are owed a combined sum of £2.1m. It is expected that creditors will suffer a shortfall of £3m.
