A meeting of creditors of Messrs. Jaques and Son, boot manufactures, Rushden, was held at the Queen Victoria Hotel, Rushden, on Monday after noon. Mr. H.F. Jaques, as chairman of the company presided. There were also present Mr. C.W. Wing (representing the solicitors) Mr. H. Claude Palmer and Mr. L.G. Roberts (accountants).

Mr. Wing announced that at a meeting of the shareholders that morning it was agreed to go into voluntary liquidation and that Messrs. A.C. Palmer and Co., and Messrs. L.G. Roberts be the liquidators.

The statement of affairs as at May 1930 was given. This showed unsecured creditors £4,095, partly secured creditor – bank overdraft £6,565 (of which £2,992 was unsecured); additional rentals on leased machinery, £101, contingent liabilities – Northants Leather Corporation £570, bills sent for collection and sold with recourse £526 and a lease at Manchester £289. the assets included cash £187, book debts, £613; directors account overdrawn £261; preference dividends overpaid £30; stock-in-trade at Rushden £911; stock on consignment £1,355; stock at Manchester, £311; loose plant and machinery £71; office furniture, £32, fittings and fixtures at Manchester, £15; lasts, knives and patterns, £57; Wolseley saloon car, £87; land at Rushden (uncharged), £147; the above figures being the estimated realisation amounts. There was a deficiency as regards creditors of £3,060, of shareholders £4,450 a total deficiency of £7,510 4s 10d

The creditors over £10 were as follows:-

Messrs. Darrod and Co., Leicester, £22; H. Boston and Sons, Runcorn, £47; Vulcan Oil Co.,£47; Radburne and Bennett, Rushden, £16; Standard Engineering Co., Leicester, £21; Mr. E Catling, Rushden, £23; Northants Leather Corporation, Kettering, £175; Alsop Bros., Northampton, £50; J.E. Dickenson, Irthlingborough, £28; Barrow Hepburn and Gale, Bermondsey, £299; England and Smith and Co., Rushden, £359; A. Mulliner, Northampton, £19; B.B. Vos and Son, £12; D.W. Bailey, Northampton, £40; Austin and Son, Rushden, £12; J. Cable and Sons, Northampton, £76; Foster Bros., Desborough, £14; J. Collier and Co., Northampton, £42; J.F. Cook, Rushden, £31; M. Inglis and Co., Glasgow, £85; Paragreen and Micchell Irthlingborough, £13; W. Jeffrey £14; J. Sale and Sons, £12; G.H. Frecknall and Co., £28; H.W. Chapman, Ltd., Wellingborough, £137; F. Hawkes, Rushden, £121; Goodliffe Manufacturing Co., Northampton, £12; T.H. and H.S. Pochin, Leicester, £15; Dominion Rubber Co., £122; H. Ingle and Sons, Ltd., Leicester, £463; Soutar Thorne, Northampton, £95; Phipps and Son, Northampton, £60; Lindrea and Co., Bristol, £832; Sanderson Reide and Co., £65; Central Tanneries, Warrington, £14; Lamont and Warne £39; Lilly Leather and Co., Irthlingborough, £50; H.C. LeNeven, London, £52; F, Roberts and Co., Rushden, £135; Huey and Davidson, £16; H.C. LeNevin (second item) £25; Staley and Radfore, £25; Mrs. Matilda Jaques, £86.

Mr. Palmer said that Mr. Roberts had been the firm’s auditor for some years and he (Mr. Palmer) had been called in in the last few weeks. He explained items on the statement of affairs. He said the bank held the deeds of the real property in Station-road, Rushden. The factory was built after the fire in 1921. The cost including site and fittings in the factory was £7,640. It stood in the company’s books now at £4,189. There was a piece of land not charged to the bank which cost £147. Owing to the difficulty of realisation they had made substantial reductions in writing off the value of assets as shown in the company’s books. Besides the security on the property, the bank also held a collateral personal guarantee from Mr. H.F. Jaques. There was an item from which nothing was expected and that was a company “Jaques and Horrell” registered in Canada and now in process of winding up. The £30 overpaid preference dividend had been paid out when there was no available balance and it would have to be repaid. They had not been able to verify the “stock on consignment,” which were all over the country – north, south, east and west, and consequently a liberal reduction had been made in the estimated return.

On May 24th 1930, a balance and loss account was prepared showing a deficiency on the profit and loss account of £3,528 and leaving a surplus on the share capital of £900. Other items had to be added for the purposes of the meeting of £95 as discounts from creditors, not now available, an additional creditor, Mrs. Jaques, £100, in respect of a car from which she made a loan, etc. These and other sums left the net balance of £3,981, to be added to the debt on the profit and loss account, making the net deficiency £7,510.

The company was incorporated in 1910 in the names of James Jaques and Harry Francis Jaques, with a nominal capital of £5,000, half being preferential and half being ordinary shares. Of that 2,500 preferential and 1950 ordinary were issued, the capital being £4,450. The shareholders were H.F. Jaques, £1,750 preference and £1,950 ordinary; Mrs. Jaques £500 preference and A.H. Lawson, £250 preference. On January 21, 1929, a further £1,450 ordinary and £850 preference shares were allotted to H.F. Jaques in respect of the conveyance of a piece of land on which the factory stood and which had never been conveyed, for the handing over to the company of that piece of land, Mr. Palmer said, Mr. Jaques had now a worthless piece of paper.

At November 1919, there was a surplus on the profit and loss account of £8,654, besides a reserve of £2,784 for excess profits duty and a general reserve of £1,200. The capital stood at £2,150. For the twelve months ending with that balance sheet sales were £45,571, labour cost £7,581, representing 16.64 per cent, the gross profit was £8,138 (17.86 per cent), and the net profit was £2,829. Figures for succeeding years were as follows. To September, 1920 (ten months), Sales £40, 119, gross profit 5.58 per cent, net loss £1,789 after paying income tax and director’s salaries £756 and a dividend of £136, the surplus to the appropriation account being £6,728; May 1921 (eight months), sales £23,346 gross profit 1.83 per cent, net loss £2,433 after income tax and director’s salaries £421 had been paid and the sum of £1,316 creditor for excess profits duty repayable, and £1,168 over reserved for excess profits duty, the surplus to appropriation account being £7,021; to May 31, 1922 (period in which the fire occurred) gross profit, 1.96 per cent., net loss £2,365, after directors’ salaries £600 and income tax paid, also a loss of £1,190 on the fire account. £1,597 was recovered from the excess profits duty and £1,200 was taken from general reserve, showing a credit. A small dividend of £120 was paid and the surplus was £6,402. To September, 1923 the 16 months trading showed a gross profit of 12.45 per cent., and after the payment of £778 as directors’ salaries there was a net loss of £228. In the next twelve months after paying £601 as directors’ salaries there was a gross profit of 11.64 per cent., the net profit being £754, and the surplus £3,998. To September, 1925, the gross profit was 8 per cent., a net loss of £4, the directors having been paid £431. The surplus was reduced to £3,305. To September, 1926, gross profit 8 per cent., net loss £49, directors £600, dividends £87, surplus, £2,720. September, 1927, gross profit 5.84 per cent., directors’ salaries £600, net loss £732, dividends £120, bonus to directors £418, special depreciation £985. reducing surplus to £442. To April, 1928, the seven months showed gross profit 11.31 per cent., director’s payments £450, net profit £591, bonus to directors £114, surplus increased to £1,847. September, 1928 (five months), gross profit 9 per cent., net loss £91, directors £300, surplus £765. September, 1929, gross profit, 8.64 per cent., directors £650, bad debts, Jaques and Horrell, £967 written off, loss £1,781, dividend £15, bonus to directors £114, surplus became a deficiency of £1, 126. To May, 1930, gross profit 10.28 per cent., bad debt, Jaques and Horrell mostly £987, directors £433, net loss £2,001. The total loss at Manchester and Rushden was £2,307.

Mr. Palmer said that the gross profit had been hardly sufficient, and in many cases much under what it should have been.

In reply to a creditor, Mr. Palmer said there was no intention of continuing. It would be a case of liquidation.

Mr. H. Ingle was assured that the bonuses paid to directors had come out of profits and not capital.

Mr. Roberts said that anything paid when there was no profits had been disallowed and surcharged.

“Mr. Jaques is thoroughly dissatisfied with trade as it is.” Mr. Palmer said. “He does not anticipate much future for business in this way of manufacturing boots. He does not wish to continue; therefore a reconstruction scheme is beyond him absolutely.

Information about the company “Jaques and Horrell” was given at the request of Mr. A.W. Head. Mr. Roberts said that that matter was never more than an arrangement between the two firms over shipping different classes of goods to the same customers and saving expenses under shipping. They found that that necessitated registering in Canada of a company. It was merely a book-keeping concern, and was being wound up as it had been a loss. Mr. Jaques was bearing his portion, namely one third.

“It looks as if the creditors will get something in the region of 10/- in the £,” Mr. Palmer said. “Creditors are never to be congratulated, but it is well to feel that there is something substantial. The company have gone on and drained everything, collecting all book debts and leaving the creditors with a factory full of leased machinery.

The resolution passed at the meeting of shareholders was confirmed and a committee of inspection was appointed, being Messrs. A. W. Head (England Smith), H. Ingle, and W. L. Claridge.