McColl's to call in administrators which could put a number of local jobs at risk

Convenience chain McColl's – which has four stores in Caithness – has confirmed the business is being put into administration with thousands of jobs at risk.

McColl's Retail Group plc issued an update on its financing discussions today (Friday), stating that there had been "no choice" other than to place the company in administration and suspend trading.

The group has four popular convenience stores in the county – Main Street, Castletown, Sinclair Street, Halkirk, Provost Sinclair Road, Thurso, and Mount Pleasant, Thurso.

Following an announcement last Tuesday, the company's senior lenders declined to further extend the deadline for the business to find more money. While the discussions had made significant progress, the company confirmed "the lenders made clear that they were not satisfied that such discussions would reach an outcome acceptable to them."

A spokesperson stated: "In order to protect creditors, preserve the future of the business and to protect the interests of employees, the board was regrettably therefore left with no choice other than to place the company in administration, appointing PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP as administrators, in the expectation that they intend to implement a sale of the business to a third-party purchaser as soon as possible."

The group has requested that the listing of its ordinary shares be suspended with immediate effect.

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