Michael Brereton and Sean Wengel, the administrators of MyHouse, have successfully completed the sale of the MyHouse retail business to Global Retail Brands Australia Pty Ltd.
After a lengthy sale process, exacerbated by the difficult retail environment, William Buck has completed the sale of the MyHouse retail business comprising 23 stores and its online presence to Global Retail Brands Australia Pty Ltd (GRB).
GRB is a significant privately-owned group, controlled by Mr Steve Lew, with over 170 stores across all States and Territories.
By facilitating the sale, Michael and Sean have ensured that the 60-year-old retail business will continue to open its doors.
The sale also secures employment for over 150 staff who will transition with the business to GRB.
While many retail businesses had been closing their doors in response to plummeting sales amid the impact of COVID-19, Michael and Sean made the difficult decision to keep the store doors open during the administration, while introducing social distancing protocols and other measures to protect customers and employees.
“We decided it was in the best interests of creditors and other stakeholders to continue to trade the business while exploring opportunities for sale,” said Michael.
“This decision has been fully vindicated, with MyHouse sales whilst under administration exceeding $7 million. In addition, MyHouse experienced year-on-year growth in sales during the administration period, despite the difficult retail conditions exacerbated by COVID-19.”
“If we had closed the doors and transitioned to an online-only business, we expect that the employees would have received less than 10 cents in the dollar from the MyHouse administration.
Now, we expect that all employees will either have a new job with GRB or will have their employee entitlements paid out in full”.
William Buck is pleased to have played a part in ensuring the survival of the MyHouse business which originally started 60 years ago by the late Michel Jarjoura.
