Education Works to be liquidated; Campion acquires Wooldridges

10 September 2012 Books+Publishing

School bookseller Education Works will be liquidated, following a second meeting of the company’s creditors at the end of August.

However, three of the nine businesses in the Education Works group have been sold, with fellow education sector supplier Campion acquiring the Wooldridges retail business, according to a statement from administrators Grant Thornton. The Elizabeth Richards direct mail business and the Fotoworks school photography business have also been sold, however, the administrators did not identify the new owners. A spokesperson for Grant Thornton confirmed to Bookseller+Publisher that the remaining entities will be wound up, but said there is no specific timeframe for the liquidation process to be completed.

Education Works, and its eight related businesses, was placed into voluntary administration at the end of July. The administrators said at the time that 85 employees across the group were to be made redundant ‘due to insufficient funding being available to continue to employ the staff’.

Approximately 50 creditors attended the second creditors meeting on 29 August. They were informed that ordinary creditors will not receive any financial return from the liquidation process ‘unless litigation is successful’ and employees will receive help to access the Federal Government’s General Employee Entitlements and Redundancy Scheme. The administrators also advised creditors that they will ‘consider whether to pursue the issue of insolvent trading’.

Grant Thornton partner Matthew Donnelly described the outcome for creditors as ‘exceptionally disappointing’. ‘It is most likely that the Wooldridges brand will be lost to the Western Australian community,’ he said.

Category: Local news