Administrators from Deloitte who are managing Colorado Group's voluntary administration applied to the Supreme Court of Victoria for the convening period between the company's first and second creditors meetings to be extended beyond the standard 20 business days. They were successful in their application and the convening period will now end on February 3, 2012. A spokesperson from the firm appointed as receiver and manager to Colorado Group, Ferrier Hodgson, said the extension would give the company more time to find a suitable buyer for the Colorado business. He declined to comment on the hunt for purchasers other than to say the process was “on track” and Ferrier Hodgson had received “more than 50” expressions of interest by the deadline of April 19, 2011. Colorado Group, including its five retail businesses – Colorado, Williams, Mathers, Jag and Diana Ferrari – went into voluntary administration on March 30, 2011. Notes from the first creditors meeting cite the group's inability to service its $400 million debt, “deteriorating trade conditions” and “poor brand positioning” as the reasons for the group going under.
“The group's results were severely impacted in the current financial year, which has seen the group's budget result of earnings before [tax] totalling circa $33.9 million reduced to approximately $18.6 million,” the minutes read. “The group was in breach of its finance facilities, it was in need of significant working capital which the group was unable to access. As a consequence, orders for the winter range were not in place which lead to the appointment of administrators and receivers.” Colorado Group currently has three primary offices, 3700 employees and operates 434 stores across Australia and New Zealand. Since 2006 it has been owned by private equity firm Affinity Equity Partners, although the company's history dates back to 1864. Erin O'Loughlin
