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AGE put into liquidation

Beesely and Company has been appointed as liquidators for Adult Group Entertainment (AGE), which traded in the UK as retail chain Pillow Talk, following a creditors’ meeting earlier this month.

The meeting took place at Stockport-based Beesely and Company’s offices on 1st October 2009, when it was announced that the company’s principal asset – the stock contained in the nine Pillow Talk stores – was worth around £70,000 at wholesale cost. The amount owed to creditors was appreciably in excess of this, with HM Revenue & Customs alone due over £300,000.

The liquidator intended to sell the stock as soon as possible – by close of business on Monday 5th October. Interested parties should contact Mark Beesely on 01625 544777 for details of the stock, though potential purchasers should be aware that some goods have Retention of Title clauses attached to them.

The liquidator told ETO that the Pillow Talk shops, leases and licences are not included in the liquidation, as they are owned by third parties, but fixtures and fittings and the Pillow Talk name and trading style are available. Contact Mark Beesely on the number above for further information.

The first Pillow Talk store was opened by Alan Butler in Margate in 1980 and the business was incorporated in 1994. It evolved into a nine-strong chain but in August 2006 it fell into financial difficulties, having run up debts of over £280,000. The chattel assets and goodwill were bought for £52,000 by DGL Ltd, a company run by David Garman, in a pre-liquidation sale.

Mr Garman left the business in August 2007 when Alan Butler became the sole director and Doug Braddock became company secretary. The business expanded over the following months, opening new retail outlets and acquiring existing stores owned by others. It also acquired DVD distributor R18 Wholesale and announced it was merging with Apollo Wholesale in late 2008, though this was later cancelled and Apollo subsequently ceased trading earlier this year.

The company found its early growth unsustainable, and it was further hit by the effects of the global recession in 2008. In an effort to cut costs, the head office and several branches were closed in 2009, but when the company was issued with a winding up petition from HM Revenue & Customs for unpaid taxes it was put into voluntary liquidation.