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Discount book chain The Works made a profit of £1.7m during the period it was in administration last year, it has emerged.
In a progress report to creditors, Zolfo Cooper, previously Kroll, said that unsecured creditors were unlikely to receive two pence in the pound of monies owed. Stuart Mackellar, joint administrator, said: "I have estimated total unsecured claims to be in the region of £35.8m, inclusive of landload
claims." He added that £12.05m had been paid to HSBC, the retailer's main creditor, out of a total £30.5m owed.
A spokesperson for the administrator said that the profit, earned while The Works was in administration from 31 January 2008 to 25 April 2008, was partly due to the retailer paying that period's rent in advance of it collapsing. She added that the retailer held an "aggressive sale" and there was a surge in customer interest in the chain.
Following The Works' collapsing in January last year, the administrators made 450 staff redundant and closed 85 stores. The Works now trades out of 213 shops.