Creditors back Blacks Leisure rescue plan

Yesterday marked a "pivotal moment" for the camping and outdoor equipment retailer Blacks Leisure as creditors backed its rescue plan, saving 4,300 jobs.

Lenders to the group, which runs Blacks and Millets, overwhelmingly voted through the company voluntary arrangement (CVA). About 98 per cent backed a compromise deal with the landlords of its unoccupied stores. Richard Fleming of KPMG, who oversaw the process, said: "This is a pivotal moment in the turnaround of Blacks. Without the approval of the CVA, the company faced administration, putting 4,300 and 291 trading stores at risk."

Blacks has put aside £7.25m to compensate just over 100 landlords to cancel its long-term lease obligations. The Blacks chief executive Neil Gillis said it was "a powerful endorsement by the creditors of the company that the CVA is in the best interests of all concerned".