Jenny Craig seeks urgent buyer

A statement released on Tuesday confirmed FTI Consulting’s Vaughan Strawbridge, Kate Warwick, and Joseph Hansell had been appointed.

The appointment is aimed at restructuring the businesses and avoiding a similar fate to the US business, which has filed for bankruptcy.

Although the Australian and New Zealand companies operate separately from the US business, the management team in these regions had hoped to avoid such an appointment.

However, following the US fiasco and failing to repay a loan despite prior commitments to do so, the directors of the Australian and New Zealand companies were left with no choice but to appoint voluntary administrators.

Despite the appointment, the administrators plan to continue trading the Australian and New Zealand companies while exploring options for restructuring.

According to Vaughan Strawbridge, the aim is to attract new capital to restructure the companies, and interest has already been received.

The Administrators will work with interested parties and stakeholders to ensure the ongoing business is secured and to provide clarity to the loyal and committed staff and customers as soon as possible.

Strawbridge expressed regret at the unfortunate situation where an overseas parent company’s bankruptcy could impact a local business, particularly where the businesses are independently operated from each other.

He assured that the Administrators would work closely with the Australian and New Zealand leadership team to minimise the impact of the situation and find the best possible outcome for all involved.

“It is unfortunate where an overseas parent company enters bankruptcy and impacts the local business, in particular, where they are operated independently to each other,” he said in the release.

“We are working with the Australian and New Zealand leadership team to trade the businesses with a view to attracting new capital to restructure the Australian and New Zealand companies.

“Interest has already been received and we will be working with those parties and stakeholders of the business to secure the ongoing business and provide clarity to its loyal and committed staff and customers as soon as possible.”

According to a leaked staff email seen by NBC News last week, the company will close down after four decades as an industry leader, with many employees set to work their final day this Friday.

The notice informed workers they would receive a “final pay cheque, including your full compensation earned through your last day of work and all accrued, unused paid time off”.

It’s no secret the firm had been struggling recently, with Bloomberg reporting last month that it was searching for a buyer.

The publication revealed that the company had amassed around $US250 million ($374,000,000) in debt and was even weighing up filing for bankruptcy if a buyer could not be found.

The company has however insisted it was more or less business as usual, with a spokesperson telling CNN last month that it was moving to e-commerce as a result of global trends, with staff members unaware of the serious troubles behind the scenes.

“Like many other companies, we’re currently transitioning from a brick-and-mortar retail business to a customer-friendly, e-commerce driven model,” the spokesperson said at the time.

“We will have more details to share in the coming weeks as our plans are solidified.”