Council Writes-Off £460k Debt After Joules Administration
Written by HFM News on 6th September 2023
Joules owed Harborough District Council over £460,000 in business rates when it went into administration last year.
The debt has now been written off, after the authority conceded there was no prospect of recovering it.
The Market Harborough-based fashion retailer was nearly £114m in the red when it collapsed, before a partnership between Next and the company’s original founder Tom Joule bought the firm.
Next purchased Joules’ Rockingham Road headquarters for £7m.
Members of the council’s Cabinet approved the write-off at a meeting this week.
A report on the matter said: “In October 2022 we received an increase in rateable value from £64,500 to £695,000 back dated to 1st June 2021. This created this large debt shortly before they entered into Administration.
“All reasonable steps to recover the debt have been taken, and therefore where write off is recommended it is the only course of action that is left available.”
Councillors made the decision at a meeting at The Symington Building
