Women‘s fashion retailer Jane Norman has become the latest UK trader to fall into administration, it has been confirmed today.
Over the weekend all of the firm‘s 90 UK stores closed for business after PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which was brought in to oversee a takeover of the business, failed to find a buyer.
US accountancy firm Zolfo Cooper has been appointed to oversee the retailer‘s future, with it likely to implement a ‘pre-pack administration‘ where a potential buyer has already been organised following insolvency.
A spokesman from Zolfo Cooper commented:“We can confirm that Zolfo Cooper have been appointed as Joint Administrators to the Jane Norman women‘s fashion retail chain.
“Following a period of testing trading conditions, the company has experienced severe cash flow difficulties which resulted in the Board requesting the appointment of the Administrators.
“Discussions continue with relevant parties and further detail will be provided when made available.”
Department store retailer Debenhams is one of the companies mooted as a potential buyer, as its already stocks concessions from the firm in its outlets.
Jane Norman is just the latest retailer to fall into administration this year, following other big name firms to collapse such as Focus DIY and Oddbins, and is the third trader to fail in the last week.
With quarterly rental payments due at the end of last week, homewares specialists Habitat and Homeform both hired administrators and closed stores over the last seven days.
Richard Curtin, Insolvency Lawyer at Faegre & Benson, said: “The closure of Jane Norman stores this weekend is part of an ongoing trend in the retail industry that is likely to continue.
“As consumers increasingly turn to shopping online, in catalogues, and in out-of-town areas, the impact is being felt by retailers. This is passed on to landlords as, like in this instance, stores close and they are faced with the potential of a lot of empty outlets.”
