11:18am Thursday 3rd July 2008
By Clare Kennedy
A DATE has been set for a meeting for everyone who is owed money by Arvella Bridal in Lyndhurst that closed abruptly last week.
The creditors' meeting will take place on July 14 at 10.30am at the office of insolvency practitioner Nick Peat in Poole.
However he has warned that suppliers and customers who are owed money by the High Street bridal boutique are likely to only get a few pence back for every pound they are owed.
And he said that even if brides have paid for their wedding dresses waiting to be collected in the shop the suppliers could keep them if they have not received any payment from Arvella.
Mr Peat has sent out letters to more than a hundred creditors and is publishing notices outlining details of the meeting which will be attended by Arvella's director Lisa Clarkson.
He said that he is sending his final batch of letters today but that if anyone who is owed money has not heard from him by the weekend they should email him at nickpeat@peatsaccountants.co.uk At the creditors' meeting Mr Peat will read out the business' assets and liabilities before a formal vote is taken to appoint the liquidator.
Those creditors who do not attend can vote by proxy. It is understood that Mrs Clarkson, 33, wants Mr Peat to be appointed the liquidator.
After the meeting Mr Peat will go through the business' books and said it could take months or a couple of years until everything is resolved, depending on whether any wrongful trading is discovered that might require court action.
Since Arvella's closure last Tuesday dozens of brides have contacted The Daily Echo claiming that they paid for dresses that were never ordered or that they were fobbed off with sample dresses.
Suppliers have also said that in many cases they had not received payment from Arvella for dresses that were ready to be sent out.
Mrs Clarkson of Warsash, has apologised for the business's failure but blamed market conditions and suppliers letting her down for her business' demise.
* The creditors' meeting will take place at Peats Accountants, Discovery Court, 551-553 Wallisdown Road, Poole, England. BH12 5AG.
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