One of the biggest wholesalers in Zimbabwe, Metro Peech & Browne Wholesales (Private) Limited, was declared technically insolvent and the company has a negative net asset value of US$8,878,493 leaving the jobs of 497 employees hanging in the balance.
According to a Corporate Rescue First Report released by Oliver Mtasa the Corporate Rescue Practitioner of Crowe Advisory (Private) Limited to the Master of the High Court after a creditors meeting held on September 20, 2023, a myriad of problems led to the company’s financial distress.
Lack of adequate governance structures and systems around financial discipline, poor servicing of liabilities resulting in suppliers holding back supplies, heavy overhead structure, stockouts, competition from the informal sector which is not subject to similar regulatory compliance, and rapid expansion without adequate capital were some of the problems bedeviling the ailing company. – The Mirror