Britain’s Hilco takes over Free Record Shop

The agreement was expected in mid-December, after Hilco agreed with administrators to keep the 68 stores in Belgium open over Christmas. When talks with Hilco faltered, the administrators, whose job is to dispose of the company’s assets in such a way as to maximise the return to creditors, turned their attention to other potential takeover partners.

Last week it was decided that an online auction of the fixtures and fittings of the 68 stores, though not the stock, would go ahead, organised by online auction house Moyersoen. However, the majority of stores failed to reach the starting price of €750. Moyersoen took the sale offline on Friday, an hour before bidding was due to start, as the Hilco bid came through.

The British company said it would keep on all 230 existing employees, but only 67 of the 68 shops will come over to Hilco: The store in Tielt-Winge in Flemish Brabant goes to another takeover partner, who has not been named.

“Hilco can now begin negotiating with the owners of the buildings where the shops are rented,” said administrator Thierry Van Doosselaere. Hilco takes over fully on 1 January.

The takeover comes in the wake of the collapse of ProCures, which had taken over Free Record Shop in July, acquiring the 68 stores in Belgium as well as 30 of the 50 in the Netherlands and three in Luxembourg. By November, ProCures was petitioning the commercial tribunal in Antwerp for bankruptcy, reportedly after finding it impossible to find suppliers willing to provide stock. Hilco Capital recently took over HMV, a music and entertainment store chain in the UK, Ireland and Canada.

Photo: Mauritsvink/Wikimedia Commons