Hilco Capital

Hilco Capital Limited

Formerly	Petherrace Limited (2000–2001) [1] Hilco UK Limited (2001–2013) [1]
Company type	Limited
Industry	Investment, finance, restructuring
Founded	March 10, 2000;24 years ago (2000-03-10) in London, England [2]
Headquarters	London , United Kingdom [1]
Area served	UK, Western Europe, Canada, Australia
Services	Turnaround investing, lending, restructuring services
Parent	Hilco Global
Website	hilcocapital.com

Hilco Capital Limited ^[1] is a British financial investment and restructuring advisory company, operating in the UK, Western Europe, Canada and Australia. ^[3]

History

Hilco Capital was founded in London in 2000 as a joint venture between its management team and Hilco Global. ^{[4] [5]}

Notable projects

Hilco has been involved with these companies, and in some cases owning and operating them for a period of time: ^[6]

• Homebase (restructuring, purchased from Wesfarmers, sold to CDS (Superstores International) in 2024) ^{[7] [8]}
• Denby Pottery Company (debt, restructuring and management buyout)
• Habitat (debt and restructuring, sold to Home Retail Group & Cafom) ^[9]
• HMV (purchased in 2013, sold the stores to Sunrise Records, and the HMV brand to JD Sports in 2019, though Hilco retain the rights to His Master's Voice)
• Tilley Endurables (Canada, sold to Gibraltar & Company) ^[10]
• Glue Stores (Australia, sold to Accent Group)
• Anglia Crown (sold to BonCulina) ^[11]
• Cath Kidston (sold to Next)
• French Connection (provided funding, July 2020)
• Gieves & Hawkes (credit facility, June 2022) ^[12]
• David Jones (Australia, credit facility, May 2023) ^[13]
• Superdry (funding, August 2023)
• Peacocks (retail advisor during administration)
• BHS (operated stores during administration) ^[14]
• Debenhams (retail adviser during administration) ^[15]

Awards

Hilco Capital was awarded Special Situations Debt Provider of the Year at the IFT Awards 2022. ^[16] The company also won the Turnaround of the Year Award at the Turnaround, Restructuring & Insolvency Awards (TRI) 2019. ^[17] It also won the Business Rescue of the Year award (£21-50m turnover) at the Insolvency & Rescue Awards 2009. ^[18]

Criticism

While the company was described in December 2018 by The Times as a vulture fund, ^[19] other media reports have described this narrative as ‘scapegoat-hunting desperation’. ^{[20] [21]}

References

1. "Hilco Capital Limited overview - Find and update company information - Gov.uk". Companies House . 10 March 2000. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
2. "Incorporation". Companies House . 10 March 2000. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
3. Walawalkar, Aaron (15 August 2020). "Debenhams hires restructuring firm for potential liquidation". The Guardian.
4. Harrison, Nicola (8 July 2011). "Hilco sells Habitat European arm to Cafom Sa". Retail Week.
5. Burn-Callander, Rebecca (23 April 2016). "Now that's Gangnam style: 200-year-old pottery firm Denby becomes surprise hit in Korea". The Telegraph.
6. "Previous Projects" (PDF). Hilco UK. Retrieved 11 May 2013.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
7. "Homebase sold for £1 as DIY disaster ends for Wesfarmers". BBC News. 25 May 2018.
8. "CDS Superstores Acquires Homebase Brand, IP And Up To 70 Stores". www.insightdiy.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2024.
9. Harrison, Nicola (8 July 2011). "Hilco sells Habitat European arm to Cafom Sa". Retail Week.
10. Singh, Prachi (30 July 2018). "Hilco sells Canadian brand Tilley to Gibraltar & Company". Fashion United.
11. Best, Dean (16 May 2023). "Foodservice group BonCulina buys UK meals maker Anglia Crown". Just Food.
12. Nazir, Sahar (13 July 2022). "Gieves & Hawkes seeks new buyer as Hong Kong owner falls into liquidation". Retail Gazette.
13. "Clifford Chance advises on financing for Anchorage Capital Partners' acquisition of David Jones in Australia". Clifford Chance. 3 May 2023.
14. Herbert, Tom (2 June 2016). "BHS folds as no buyer found". Accounting Web.
15. Nazir, Sahar (15 August 2020). "Further jobs at risk as Debenhams owners plan liquidation". Retail Gazette.
16. "IFT Announces Award Winners". www.the-ift.com.
17. "Hilco Capital and Moores win Turnaround of the Year Award". KBB Daily. 22 November 2019.
18. Staff (12 January 2011). "Hilco: Turning Bad Money Into Good". ESM Magazine.
19. "Vulture fund charged ailing HMV £48m".
20. Kleinman, Mark (14 September 2023). "Mark Kleinman: The inquest into Wilko's demise has only just begun". CityAM.
21. "Accent Group to acquire Glue Store and Next Athleisure wholesale brands". Shopping Centre News. 26 April 2021.