HM Revenue & Customs has filed a petition to wind up Jessops. The 89-year old camera shop chain is now owned by Peter Jones. He is the Dragons’ Den actor.
If the retailer fails to pay its tax, it could fall into insolvency. It has already filed for bankruptcy three times over a period of four years.
This disclosure was made alongside accounts showing that sales for the year ending October 1, 2023 had dropped by 7.5% to £19.97 from £21.58, resulting in a loss £1.2 million. The total net liability of the company increased to £16.9million.
According to court documents, HMRC filed a petition requesting that a court shut down Jessops operations. The petition can be withdrawn by the company if it pays its tax obligations.
Frank Jessop founded the retailer in Leicester in 1935. It grew quickly under Alan Jessop’s leadership as personal photography became more popular. After Alan Jessop retired in 1996, the company was sold to Bridgepoint Capital. The firm tried to floated it twice before selling to ABN Amro in 2002 for £116million.
Amro made the company public. However, despite its pivot to the rapidly growing market for digital camera, the company struggled through the financial crisis. It was eventually bought by HSBC in 2009 in a debt for equity deal, with the closing of 80 out of 300 stores.
In 2013, the company was placed into administration. PJ Investment Group acquired it from Jones. He grew its online sales and reopened stores all over the country.
Jessops, however, has again struggled in recent years due to the increase of smartphones with powerful cameras cutting into high street sales for photography equipment. The company is now focusing on a new group of social media influencers who create content for TikTok, Instagram and TikTok.
The statement read: “The strong heritage of the group, the trust and awareness in Jessops’ brands and the reputation for quality continue to drive our customer loyalty.”
Jones, 58 years old, received a CBE for his services to charity, business and enterprise in 2009. He has invested millions of dollars in new start-ups in the nine years he has been a member of the BBC panel Dragons’ Den. These include Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae Jerk Sauce, Bladez Toyz, and Boot Buddy the shoe cleaning device.
Tax office often negotiates with companies about unpaid taxes and only issues court orders when negotiations fail. It was prevented from serving winding up petitions during pandemic, and is now being pressed to be more active since the total tax debt at the end March of last year reached £45.9billion.
PwC’s analysis shows that in April the number of petitions for winding-up filed against companies increased by 44 percent, as HMRC, local governments and businesses demanded more money.
Peter Jones and Jessops have been contacted to provide a comment.
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