North East estate agency Jan Forster Estates collapsed owing creditors more than £328,000, according to newly filed documents.

Administrators were appointed last month to Gosforth-based Jan Forster Estates Ltd after the business faced a number of financial difficulties. A pre-pack administration subsequently saw the company sold to Angela Dennison, the daughter of founder Jan Forster and the firm’s former managing director.

The sale was carried out by Andrew Little and Gillian Sayburn of Begbies Traynor and resulted in the business being transferred to Dennison Property Services, a company incorporated by Dennison in October last year. The agency, which previously operated four branches in Gosforth, High Heaton and Tynemouth, now trades from a single office in Gosforth.

At the time of administration, the firm employed 18 staff, down from 29 in its most recent accounts. Administrators said the majority of employees transferred to the new business, although it is not known how many redundancies were made, according to The Chronicle.

Now documents have been filed by the administrators which lay out the chain of events which led to the estate agency’s collapse, showing new owner Ms Dennison acquired the property business for £55,000, to be paid in 10 monthly instalments.

The report states: “Although the lettings and property management side to the business traded profitably, the company began to experience financial difficulties as a consequence of increased competition in the estate agency offerings in the North East, particularly in the Tynemouth area where there are now circa 25 estate agencies operating in that small location. Many of these agents operate at very low cost and do not have high street premises, which are costly to staff and operate.

“The nature of the property sale side of the business also puts pressure on cash flow due to the often long timescales for property sale completions and inevitable delays in some cases. The company has fallen into arrears with HMRC with the historic VAT liability now sitting at circa £250,000. In addition, the pressure on cashflow has been exacerbated by the burden of the leases in the underperforming estate agency offices and the monthly business essential commitments such as circa £16,000 per month for Rightmove and £6,000 pm for the Client Relationship Management System.

“In October 2025, the directors became seriously concerned about the immediate pressures on cash flow and increased pressure from HM Revenue and Customs in relation to the historic VAT debt. The directors were also concerned that the company would not be able to pay October or November’s payroll.”

The directors have not yet filed a statement of affairs, but administrators have produced an estimated statement showing total creditor claims of £328,868. This includes £280,000 owed to HMRC, £13,000 to Rightmove and a £35,000 CBILS loan to NatWest.

Unsecured claims are estimated at around £227,000, including £13,868 owed to trade creditors. NatWest is expected to be repaid from cash held in the company’s bank account.

Preferential claims from employees for arrears of wages, salary and holiday pay are estimated at £11,945.61 and are expected to be paid in full. Unsecured creditor claims are estimated at £134,680.51.

Estate agency under new ownership after administration