Shooting retailer D. J. Litt's goes into administration

By Barnaby Dracup

Tuesday, 13 May 2008

The gun trade was thrown into turmoil last week as one of the UK's largest retailers of outdoor clothing and sporting accessories, D. J. Litt's, went into administration.

Richard Hawes and Robin Allen of Deloitte were appointed as joint administrators of D. J. Litt's (Firearms) Ltd, based in Newport, on 8 May.

Established in 1976, the company had a turnover of £12million and employed 20 people. It also owns a shooting ground in Newport, Gwent.

According to Deloitte, the failure of the company has been "attributed to recent cash flow problems".

Joint administrator, Richard Hawes, said: "We are assessing the company's position to secure a sale of the business and assets. We are seeking a buyer for the business as a going concern and interested parties should contact the administrators without delay. For those consumers who might have guns with Litt's for repair or who have put deposits down on guns, we would urge you to get in contact with us with full details. Please be patient as we are receiving hundreds of calls every day."

To contact Litt's administrators, tel 02920 481111 and leave a message with full details of your enquiry.

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Comments

SJ

Fri, 13th Jun 2008 12:24:26

I too have 'lost' a gun. Its impossible that this is attributed to 'recent' cash flow problems. How long does it take to run up debts greater than your annual turnover of 12m? Some guns have been sold, even guns bought in for repair! Litts had 6 weeks notice that the receiver was coming in and a lot of things have happened in those vital 6 weeks, none of which is good news for either the industry, the sport, or the customer.

Michael Soames

Tue, 20th May 2008 14:30:48

I have spoken to the administrators - they have a pair of guns of mine for repair They say that they have reported to the police the fact that they believe that some guns may have been sold illegally They are also saying that it may be weeks or even months before they can consider returning guns to their owners With the 12th August less than 3 months away this is a matter of serious concern to any that are affected - particularly the uncertainty and apparently the lack of any urgency to deal with the matter How many guns are really involved - it is two weeks since the administration order was served and they say that they are still receiving "hundreds of calls every day" - at 200 calls per day for two weeks that means nearly 3,000 guns if each call only represents one gun I hope that the Shooting Times will be keeping a close eye on what the administrators are doing and the resources being committed Yours sincerely Michael Soames

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