Newcastle's beloved music business JG Windows Ltd collapsed under nearly £1m in debt, according to new documents.
The company was forced into liquidation last November after conceding it could no longer compete with major online retailers.
The closure marked the end of a 115-year legacy as a cherished shop selling musical instruments and sheet music to both budding musicians and renowned rock stars. The business, which first opened its doors in Newcastle city centre's Central Arcade in 1908, is now up for sale by the liquidators.
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It has only had two owners throughout its entire history. The large unit is also open for new tenants, with fashion companies and restaurant firms reportedly showing interest.
Liquidation documents reveal the extent of the debt the business was grappling with prior to calling in liquidators. The total deficiency stands at £956,986, but assets worth £148,186 are available to return funds to preferential creditors.
The document from Begbies Traynor liquidators shows JG Windows has stock and equipment valued at £681,344, but this is only expected to fetch around £145,612 when sold off. The company also has book debts of £119,324, although it remains unclear how much of this can be recovered, reports .
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The preferential creditor liabilities include £1,681 owed for pension contributions, and £54,008 owed to HMRC, while a floating charge of £168,948 is owed to Barclays Bank. Unsecured claims include £204,252 owed to the firm's 15 employees, £171,376 owed to the landlord and £318,609 owed to the directors, while trade creditors are owed £152,523.
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The document also includes a list of all 66 creditors, who are collectively owed £866,465, over a five-page document listing companies including Yamaha Music Europe, Warner Music, Oxford University Press and British Gas. Attempts to sell the business with a £500,000 price tag were first launched around 18 months before its collapse, when the owners had said they planned to retire.
Over the years it has sold keyboards, pianos, guitars and drums, brass, classical and folk instruments as well as sheet music and recorded music on vinyl, CD and DVD, with more recent developments including a website and music academy teaching business. The store has a rich history in Newcastle and its name comes from original founder James Gale Windows, who moved to Elswick from Oxfordshire in the late 1880s.
In 1908, he opened his own shop in the Central Arcade selling music and musical instruments. When JG Windows died in 1933, his two sons Hedley and Maurice took over the business, and Hedley's son James Bowen Windows joined the company in 1961, running it with his father who died in 1996, aged 90.
In 2006, the business was acquired from the Windows family by new proprietors who expanded the shop in 2015. Renowned musicians including The Pet Shop Boys and Lindisfarne have expressed their sorrow over the store's closure.