// JD Sports’ Peter Cowgill warns that retail pre-pack administrations and CVAs will increase post pandemic
// The sports goods retailer recently launched a pre-pack administration for its subsidiary Go Outdoors
JD Sports executive chair Peter Cowgill has reportedly said the rate of retail pre-pack administrations and CVAs will increase post-pandemic.
The sportswear retailer recently launched a pre-pack administration for its subsidiary Go Outdoors in an effort to secure more competitive rental prices.
Cowgill said it was likely that CVAs would become more commonplace as retailers struggle with a continued decline in footfall after non-essential businesses reopened last month, Retail Week reported.
READ MORE:
- JD Sports seeks “rental realism” as Covid-19 impacts footfall
- JD Sports buys back Go Outdoors in £56.5m pre-pack deal after appointing administrators
He added that JD Sports stores were successful to varying degrees before pandemic, but there is evidence of a movement towards online.
JD Sports’ store estate can be retained but has to be repriced and that has to be recognised by bondholders and the financiers of shopping centres, according to Cowgill.
He said CVAs and pre-pack administrations will “accelerate” in the wake of Covid-19 and did not rule out store closures across JD Sports’ portfolio.
On Monday, the Centre for Retail Research revealed that UK retailers have axed over 24,000 jobs this year, with experts warning this may only be “the tip of the iceberg”.
Many of the jobs were lost due to retailers falling into administration in the first half of 2020 after the coronavirus lockdown triggered the collapse of some major businesses.
At least 24,348 jobs have already been lost across insolvent UK retailers.
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