Beauty Academy Red Files for Bankruptcy Amidst Payment Disputes
Antwerp, Belgium – Lesley-Ann Poppe and her husband, Kevin Lebreton, have announced the bankruptcy of i-Learning, the company operating the Beauty Academy Red, which offered approximately 80 beauty courses across Antwerp, Ghent, and Hasselt. The declaration, made via social media, follows a period of intense scrutiny after numerous teachers reported unpaid wages and students complained of disrupted or altered classes.
“With pain in the heart,we must announce that we are laying down the books,” Poppe wrote.
The couple recently addressed the situation in Newspaper S, acknowledging financial difficulties. “everyone can now say that they have money from our company. Because yes, that’s right.We admit that. And [we are] pulling the plug out of it,” Poppe stated.
While Poppe and Lebreton acknowledged owing money to teachers, they maintained that the actions taken by unpaid instructors to recover funds where unjustified. They attempted to avoid bankruptcy by seeking to sell their beauty product stock and appointing a restructuring expert, stating, “it was easier to request the bankruptcy. Hup, we are gone and don’t attract it anymore. But we don’t do that.”
However, these efforts proved unsuccessful. Poppe confirmed that while an agreement was reached with most creditors, outstanding debts remain, leaving them with “no other choice.”
The bankruptcy filing comes after a Ghent court ruled earlier this summer that Poppe and lebreton must compensate a former teacher with over 13,000 euros. Additional lawsuits from unpaid teachers are currently ongoing in Antwerp.
