The Cat's Pyjamas Limited (09784347): administration
- Status
- Administration ended
- Administration began
- 2018-10-05
- Administrators
- Lee Van Lockwood, Robert Alexander Henry Maxwell
- Administrators' firm
- Begbies Traynor
- Incorporated
- 2015-09-18
- Location
- Leeds
- Industry
- 56101 Licenced restaurants
Why it went into administration
- HMRC / tax arrears
- Funding withdrawn / unable to refinance
- Cash flow / liquidity pressure
- Property / lease costs
- Rising interest rates
From the administrators' statement
The Company began to trade in late 2015. The director, Alison White, initially opened one restaurant based in Headingiey. The Company has since expanded rapidly, with further sites opened in Leeds, Sheffield, Harrogate and York, as well as a central kitchen that also operated as a head office in Kirkstall. A further lease was also signed for a sixth restaurant in Wakefield. The Company employed 102 staff across the restaurants and central kitchen.
The funding for each of the sites was provided by loans and hire purchase agreements taken on by the Company, often with personal guarantees provided by the director. A large amount of the borrowing taken on was from lenders with high interest rates. Although the restaurants continued to trade successfully, the Company was unable to generate sufficient funds to enable repayment of these loans within the required time frames.
The Company had also fallen behind on payments to HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) and had consequently entered into a time to pay arrangements in respect of both VAT and PAYE/NIC. Payment terms with key suppliers were also being stretched due to the cashflow pressure which presented a threat to the Company's ability to continue to trade.
Administrators' statement of proposals (2018-10-24) · Companies House register