Stock crisis for indie labels in warehouse war.

"Unlawful" legal threat by Pinnacle creditor denies labels half their stock

By Robert Ashton

Independent label bosses pulling their hair out in frustration at the slowness of repatriating their stock from Pinnacle have been hit with another shock, after a warehouse landlord threatened to withhold millions of pounds worth of product because he is a major creditor of Pinnacle.

The move is a terrible blow for some companies, who are reporting that as much as half their stock is still held in Pinnacle's four warehouses, more than a month after the distributor collapsed.

Just before Pinnacle went under it held around 8m units of stock, with the majority thought to be at its Teardrop Centre in Swanley, Kent. However, it is now understood the landlord of that complex is owed #50,000 by the distributor and has attempted to put a lien on the stock until payment is made.

AIM chairman and CEO Alison Wenham, whose organisation has been helping the indie sector cope with this latest crisis, reports that Pinnacle's administrator BDO Stoy Hayward and the MCPS-PRS Alliance have informed the landlord that the lien is unlawful because Pinnacle does not actually own the stock.

But the legal threat remains and it will not help labels access their stock. Wenham's organisation is now recommending that labels take a view on whether it will be cheaper for them to repress high-demand titles rather than swallowing the cost of trying to get stock returned to them.