KPMG investigates missing cash at Unwins

By Simon Fluendy for MailOnline
Updated: 04:31 EDT, 26 February 2006

NEW allegations of wrongdoing at failed off-licence chain Unwins are being investigated by accountants.

Myles Halley of KPMG, Unwins' administrator, told creditors last Friday he was investigating deals where assets were sold for less than their true value, as well as the attempted spin-off of ten shops from the group shortly before its December 19 collapse.

He said executives from Devereux Montague Private Equity had set up a separate VAT registration and corporate structure for the new shops, branded Phillips Newman.

Halley told the creditors' meeting: 'If looked at cynically, the establishment of Phillips Newman could be seen as an effort to acquire the ownership of those shops directly.'

He also told creditors he was going to investigate the sale and leaseback of property carried out shortly after DM's £32m buyout of Unwins. One creditor asked him why property firm Helical Bar had been able to sell at auction a quarter of the properties it acquired from Unwins for £16m just weeks after paying only £27m for the whole portfolio.

Halley told the meeting he would examine whether there were any links between DM-appointed Unwins directors and Helical Bar.

'Otherwise, the question is whether the directors were acting in the best interests of the company,' he said.

Halley also slammed management of the group. 'The books and banking were all over the place,' he said. 'We have identified a seven-figure sum paid into DM's accounts from some 50 collections of cash from Unwins shops and we are looking for more. DM said they were concerned about staff honesty. We are not yet satisfied by that explanation.'

The meeting appointed a creditors' committee, which will supervise efforts to recover cash. Halley said the best hope of further significant recoveries came from pursuing legal claims. The biggest creditor is Revenue & Customs, which is owed at least £14.6m.