Boxclever

For the game show, see Box Clever.

Boxclever
Company typePrivate
IndustryConsumer Electronics
Major Appliances
Rentals
PredecessorGranada Rentals, Radio Rentals
Founded2000
Defunct2003 (original)
FateAdministration (original)
SuccessorHome Technology Finance Limited, (t/a Boxclever)[1]
Headquarters
Bedford
,
England
Area served
United Kingdom
Websiteboxclever

Boxclever (styled as “boxclever”) is a British electronic and domestic appliance rental chain that was founded in 2000 by the merger of Radio Rentals and Granada Rentals.[2][3] The company originally operated through high street stores but later moved to an online-only service.[4][5] The company was sold to WestLB and went into administration in June 2003,[6] causing WestLB to register their €650 million bad debt charge.[7][8][9][10]

The company was bought out of administration in January 2005 by Fortress Investment Group for £135 million.[11] Fortress and Cerberus sold the business to Weight Partners in May 2011.[12]

  1. ^ "Home". boxclever.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Box Clever deal saves 400 jobs". London: Independent. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  3. ^ Reece, Damian (21 September 2003). "Alchemy offers £200m for Boxclever buyout". London: Telegraph. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  4. ^ Bawden, By Tom (7 January 2004). "Hands set to buy back struggling TV business". The Times. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  5. ^ "Great Service, Great Sets: Remembering the TV Rental Shop: The Lost Precinct". mancunian1001.wordpress.com. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Why Boxclever wasn't very clever after all". telegraph.co.uk. 28 September 2003. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  7. ^ Bawden, By Tom (25 September 2003). "WestLB pulls plug on boxclever service unit". The Times. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  8. ^ The Law of Corporate Finance: General Principles and Eu Law. Springer Publishing. 2010. p. 377. ISBN 978-3-642-03057-4.
  9. ^ Slatter, Stuart (2006). Leading Corporate Turnaround: How Leaders Fix Troubled Companies. Wiley. pp. 215–216. ISBN 978-0-470-02559-8.
  10. ^ "Boxclever blow for Saunders". Standard. 24 September 2003. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
  11. ^ "Boxclever set to be sold at big loss". www.standard.co.uk. 18 January 2005. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  12. ^ Thompson, James (6 May 2011). "Weight Partners buys rental firm Boxclever". London: Independent. Retrieved 30 March 2013.