ADMINISTRATORS for the failed wedding-list company Wrapit are investigating whether the group was trading insolvently before it went under last week.

KPMG, the accountancy firm carrying out the administration, will determine the group’s liquidity position in its investigation. Details will be sent to creditors within eight weeks.

It is against the law for a company to trade while it is insolvent, and directors can be held personally liable for debts if they are found to be in breach of this.

It has also emerged that Wrapit’s debts total £6.6m, which is almost double the £3.5m originally estimated by HSBC, the bank that pulled the plug on the gift firm.

It is thought that the company has a backlog of £5m in unfulfilled orders for presents that were bought for newlyweds but never delivered. Another £1.6m is owed to trade creditors, including landlords and suppliers of the wedding gifts.

KPMG is also investigating the conduct of management in the months preceding Wrapit’s administration.

Peter Geraldi, Wrapit’s co-founder and managing director, said at the weekend: “I am completely confident that we did not trade the company insolvently. We did not set out to defraud anyone.”

However, some disgruntled customers are already planning to pursue Geraldi and co-founder Pepita Dia-mand in the courts.

One customer said: “They ended up with a lot of City clients who know a thing or two about business – and, given the amount they had spent on these gifts, they are unlikely to let it go without a fight.”

The administrators have put some assets up for sale.

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