City Link has gone into administration and operations have been suspended until 29th December.
Hunter Kelly, Charles King and Tom Lukic of EY’s Restructuring team were appointed joint administrators on 24 December. They said the company had has entered administration as a result of continued substantial losses and was unable to continue accepting new parcels due to the further losses it would incur.
The depots will reopen to the public on Monday 29 December 2014 and will remain open for a short period of time to enable customers and intended recipients to collect their parcels.
In a statement, the administrators said: “Customers who placed parcels with City Link Limited on Christmas Eve for delivery are urged to go to the depot to retrieve their parcels as soon as possible on or after 29 December 2014.
“Intended recipients of parcels who have been notified of a failed or pending delivery are also urged to go to the depot to collect their parcels as soon as possible on or after 29 December 2014. City Link Limited’s online parcel tracking system remains live to enable customers and intended recipients to locate their parcels. The online tracking system should be used by customers and recipients to identify if they need to collect their parcels and at which depot their parcels are located. The normal helpline telephone numbers will also be open on Saturday 27 December 2014 and from Monday 29th December 2014. City Link Limited will no longer be able to deliver any further parcels and customers are urged to make alternative arrangements for future deliveries.”
At this stage, no redundancies have been made among City Link Limited’s 2,727 employees. However, it is anticipated that there will be substantial redundancies over the coming days, as no buyer has been identified following a sale process for the Company and its business.
Hunter Kelly, joint administrator to City Link Limited, said: “City Link Limited has incurred substantial losses over several years. These losses reflect a combination of intense competition in the sector, changing customer and parcel recipient preferences, and difficulties for the Company in reducing its cost base.
“The strain of these losses became too great and all but used up Better Capital’s £40m investment, which was made in 2013 and intended to help to turn around the Company. Despite the best efforts to save City Link Limited, including marketing the Company for sale, it could not continue to operate as a going concern and Administrators were appointed.
“We have temporarily suspended operations at all transport hubs and depots until Monday 29 December 2015, when we intend to reopen depots to the public to enable customers and intended recipients to collect their parcels. We will also provide support to employees relating to potential redundancies. We are now beginning the process of realising the Company’s assets.”
Any parties interested in acquiring any parts of the business or its assets should contact the Joint Administrators immediately. The Joint Administrators will provide a further update on the status of the administration over the coming days.
