Another high street retailer closes along with a big-name restaurant and a long-established Scottish family charity

Welcome to our latest round-up of the most interesting and important business and insolvency news stories from the past seven days you might have missed – and we don’t blame you, there’s a lot going on.

So if you want to know what why company insolvencies rose again last month; what the forthcoming Spring Statement could mean for your business; how navigating an MVL can be smooth sailing with our comprehensive new guide or how a CVA could be the fresh start a business needs – you can read all these stories and more at our advice centre page.

Select

A well-known high-street retailer is going into liquidation and closing several of its branches with immediate effect. 

Select entered into a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) last year but have been unable to overcome their continuing challenging trading conditions. 

They closed 35 shops from all over the UK at the weekend, continuing a process begun at the start of 2025. Hundreds of positions will be made redundant as a result. 

Select first went into administration in 2019 before being brought out by new owners before eventually being purchased by current owner, Cafer Mahiroglu. 

The business has been operating for over four decades and at its peak had 169 stores.

Home Start Dundee

A charity based in Dundee is closing at the end of the month after spending 40 years supporting local families and new parents.

Home-Start Dundee was launched in 1985 and helps parents with babies and children under five offering regular support, friendship and practical help to young families under stress in their own homes helping to prevent family crisis.”

 A statement from Home-Start confirmed that the charity had faced a number of challenges including sourcing funding and recruiting volunteers. 

They said: “After 40 years of supporting families and children, we’re sorry to announce that Home-Start Dundee will be closing at the end of March 2025.

“Like all charities, Home-Start Dundee has faced a number of challenges including generating new and diverse funding and recruiting volunteers and this news highlights the pressures faced by voluntary organisations providing crucial services for families.

“We know that this news will be very disappointing for families and supporters in our community. Home-Start Dundee have been in contact with parents and referrers to help identify other sources of support.

“This news does not affect any other Home-Start in Scotland and Home-Starts will continue supporting more families than ever.”

Hard Rock Cafe – Newcastle

The Hard Rock Cafe in Newcastle has closed after the company running the franchise in the city went into administration. 

The restaurant was opened on the site of Newcastle’s Guildhall on the Quayside in 2021.

A statement on behalf of the owners said: “Despite efforts to find a positive way forward for the company, it has unfortunately had to cease trading with all positions being made redundant and the venue closing to protect the business’s assets.”

The franchise is separate from the main business which continues to operate in hundreds of locations across the world through a mixture of directly-owned cafes and franchises.

Ibis Styles Hotel

A Bournemouth hotel is the latest in the town to go into administration after its contract with the Home Office came to an end. 

The Ibis Styles Hotel offered the Home Office exclusive use of its 65 bedrooms, main building and restaurant which ended in June 2024, when the hotel fully re-opened to the public.

The owners were actively seeking to refinance the business but this was unsuccessful as creditors brought a winding up petition against the company on Christmas Eve 2024 for a “substantial unpaid debt”.  

The hotel will continue to trade during the administration while potential buyers are being sought.

Two other hotels in the area have also gone into administration recently – the Orchid Hotel and The Queens Hotel & Spa.

Tile Giant Pre-Pack

The owners of Tile Giant and Tile Choice have been bought out of administration. 

Stiled Holdings Ltd are based in Leeds and by concluding the deal they have preserved 29 out of 38 physical stores and more than 200 out of 226 jobs. 

A statement from the business said: “After a thorough marketing process, it is positive news that a buyer was found for Stiled Holdings Ltd. 

“The business had been encountering trading difficulties due to the general decline of the UK DIY and construction sector, alongside the continued growth of online competition before entering administration on February 14th 2025.

“We wish the new owners every success as they take the business forward.”

OncImmune

A Leeds MedTech company has gone into administration and suspended trading in its shares.

OncImmune Holdings plc had been searching for new partners and investors on an emergency basis but a buyer could not be found for its German trading subsidiary nor could they secure cash to extend the business beyond April. 

OncImmune was an autoantibody profiling business which developed techniques to enable precision medicine treating diseases including cancer. They had several projects under discussion alongside prospective partners and a number of “significant strategic collaborations and transformative contracts.”

A statement from the board of directors to the London Stock Exchange said: “After extensive consideration of the company’s current financial situation and as well as the resulting creditor position, the board has regrettably concluded that there are no further options available to the company to extend its cash runway and that the group should therefore be placed into administration in order to preserve the value of the business for creditors.”

Enzo’s Homes

One of Wales’ leading residential property developers has collapsed and gone into compulsory liquidation. 

Enzo’s Homes had been trading for nearly 13 years and developed a number of residential schemes across Wales and latterly England. 

The business was fined £300,000 in 2021 after a contractor employed by them mistakenly felled a 176-year-old giant redwood tree to make way for a new residential scheme in Swansea. 

The company also abandoned plans for another scheme in the city for a hundred homes late last year citing viability issues. 

Directors confirmed that they would be engaging with all relevant stakeholders and creditors to maximise the return to creditors including a four-acre industrial development owned by the business with existing business tenants.

Altrix Group

A Nursing agency group that is run via an app has been bought out of administration in a pre-pack deal securing 45 positions. 

The group also owns the intellectual property and operations of two other brands including TFS Healthcare and Soleus People.

Altrix is known as the “app-based nursing agency” and uses automation to reduce costs for agencies and in turn employers and increase flexibility and work-life balance for healthcare staff. 

New owners HCRG Workforce Solutions work with NHS trusts as well as local authorities and private providers.

Megan Grant, managing director of Altrix said: “I’m delighted for Altrix Group to join HCRG Workforce Solutions, one of the largest workforce solutions providers in health and care in the UK. The team at HCRG are a great new home for Altrix Group, committed to sustainable long-term partnerships with clients and candidates and they see and truly believe the benefit for our technology for their workforce and clients.”

Basildon Credit Union

A Credit Union with hundreds of members has gone into administration. 

Basildon Credit Union has stopped trading and is in default so the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has stepped in to protect the 498 members.

FSCS is the UK’s statutory compensation scheme set up to protect customers if their bank, building society or credit union goes out of business and will compensate most members within seven working days. 

They expect the total compensation for Basildon Credit Union Limited to be around £344,000. 

Emma Barrow, Head of Communications at FSCS said: “Customers of Basildon Credit Union Limited can be assured that their money is safe. FSCS has now stepped in and members with live accounts don’t need to do anything – they will receive their money automatically within a few days.”

The Credit Union first opened in 1988 when it began as a workplace Credit Union for Basildon Borough Council employees. It later widened its Common Bond to include former employees of the Council before widening its membership further to all Essex residents and workers. Only people who lived and/or worked within the County of Essex could qualify for the Credit Union. 

They employed two part-time, paid finance officers and six volunteer directors.

This time next week, we’ll know the contents of the Chancellor’s Spring Statement and while there’s a lot of speculation and rumours, one thing we do know is that it’s unlikely to be good news for many business owners and directors – especially of SME’s. 

Even more reason to get in touch with us for a free initial consultation with one of our advisors. 

There will still be time to implement different options and strategies depending on your vision for your business this year but it is definitely running out. 

Use it wisely – while you still have the option.