Antique and vintage furniture dealer Royal House Antiques was sold in a pre-pack deal worth £400,000 after being placed into administration.
Georgina Eason and Steven Illes, both of MHA MacIntyre Hudson LLP, were appointed as joint administrators of Veda Furnishings Ltd, trading as Royal House Antiques, on 22 June 2026.
Ahead of entering administration, the company employed seven members of staff and maintained an online presence through its own e-commerce website, royalhouseantiques.co.uk, but generated the majority of its sales through third-party online marketplaces, including eBay, Vinterior, Selling Antiques, Antiques Atlas, Pamono, FirstDibs and Chairish.
Notwithstanding the company’s history of profitable trading, the company became subject to an ongoing review by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) concerning potential tax liabilities arising from its historic tax affairs.
Whilst the company disputed certain aspects of HMRC’s assessments, the potential exposure was significant and required careful consideration when assessing the company’s financial position. The liabilities asserted by HMRC had a material adverse impact on the company’s liquidity and solvency.
Based on the information available to the Board, the company did not have sufficient cash resources or available assets to satisfy HMRC’s claims and was therefore unable to continue trading whilst meeting its liabilities as they fell due.
Following a review of the business, it was placed into administration with a pre-pack deal immediately taking place to newco Royale House Antiques Ltd (RHA). The purchasing entity are a connected party of Veda Furnishings Ltd by virtue of a common director and shareholder, being James Thorpe.
The terms of the pre-pack set out that the total consideration payable in respect of the business and its assets of £400,000 with an additional 7.5% of net turnover generated during the twelve-month period following completion.
RHA has the option to make early repayment of the net turnover consideration if they make payment of £150,000 before February 2027. Of this sum, there is a cash on completion payment of £200,000, followed by 10 consecutive monthly payments of £20,000, commencing one month following sale completion.
With regards to creditors, unsecured claims totalled £1.4m, with the HMRC being owed £1.3m while a director’s loan accounted for £100,000. It is expected that creditors will suffer a shortfall of £800,000.
