Whittles drinks to Oddbins purchase
Whittles Wine Merchants, based in Solihull, has snapped up half of the failed Oddbins chain. Whittles has rescued 37 of the retailer's stores after it went into administration last month, saving about 200 jobs.
Reports suggest the deal is worth £4m, although this has not been confirmed.
Administrators at business advisory firm Deloitte were appointed to the ailing retailer last month. Oddbins has 89 stores across the UK and employs about 400 people
The company has an annual turnover of £75m, including £2m of online sales. Oddbins had planned to restructure its debts through a company voluntary agreement (CVA), but did not receive support of its creditors, including HMRC, to which it owed about £8m.
Whittals Wine Merchants is a subsidiary of European Food Brokers, managed by entrepreneur Raj Chatha.
Chatha has previously invested in ailing alcohol retailers, having bought more than 100 Booze Buster shops from Wine Cellar in 2009.
