B and M Sued for £13.8M by Supplier

0:00On April 8th, a discount chain called B&M is facing a 13.8 million pound lawsuit from its former supplier, the Skinny Food Company. The suit claims B&M cut them off as payback after investment talks fell through with the retailer's former owners, the Aurora family. Court papers say this led to delistings in both 2021 and 2025, slashing their product purchases. The Skinny Food Company started supplying B&M with over 50 items like sauces, spreads, and ready meals back in late 2020. They got promises of steady business, even exclusivity on some lines, which made them skip deals with rivals like home bargains and buy over two. 135,000 pounds in machinery just for B&M orders. This hit Skinny hard, with order values dropping from 10.7 million pounds in the year to August 31, 2021, down to, about 3.2 million the next year. No warning or reasons given for the first delisting, which lawyers call a clear breach of their agreements.

1:04Allegations point to Robin Aurora, a former B&M director, warning that without the family investment, he'd pull support and could ruin their business. Talks collapsed in September 2021, right before the big order cuts kicked in. B&M hasn't filed a defense yet, and no hearing day to set. This case could shake up how big retail as handle supplier deals, especially when personal investments mix in. Keep an eye on it as it unfolds.