// Peacocks and Jaeger collapse into administration
// Owner Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group passed a deadline to find a buyer for the two chains
// No redundancies or store closures have been made as yet
Peacocks and Jaeger have gone into administration, putting over 4700 jobs at risk and a total of 500 shops at risk of permanent closure.
The retailers’ owner Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM Group), has passed a deadline to find a buyer for the two fashion chains, which between them have about 500 stores.
Tony Wright and Alastair Massey, partners at business advisory firm FRP, were appointed as joint administrators on Thursday following efforts by management to secure a solvent sale of both businesses.
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No redundancies or store closures have been made on appointment.
“In recent weeks, we have had constructive discussions with a number of potential buyers for Peacocks and Jaeger,” an EWM Group spokesperson said.
“But the continuing deterioration of the retail sector due to the impact of the pandemic and second lockdown have made this process longer and more complex than we would have hoped.
“While those talks are ongoing, we no longer have an option to extend the standstill agreement originally imposed by the High Court six weeks ago any further.
“Therefore as directors we taken the desperately difficult decision to place Peacocks and Jaeger into administration while those talks continue.
“We will continue to do all we can to support FRP Advisory in trying to secure the best outcome possible for these businesses.”
Wright said: “Jaeger and Peacocks are attractive brands that have suffered the well-known challenges that many retailers face at present.
“We are in advanced discussions with a number of parties and working hard to secure a future for both businesses.”
The joint administrators continue to market the businesses for sale.
Jaeger is a London-based fashion retailers with 76 stores and concessions and employs 347 staff, while Peacocks is a Cardiff-based value clothing retailer that operates 423 stores with 4369 staff.
The news of the administration comes weeks after EWM Group, which is owned by Dubai-based retail tycoon Philip Day, confirmed that two of its other retail brands – Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home – fell into administration.
After the retailers collapsed on November 7, the group permanently closed 56 Edinburgh Woollen Mill stores along with eight Ponden Home shops, axing 866 jobs and putting a further 1821 jobs under threat.
The remaining 328 Edinburgh Woollen Mill and 65 Ponden Home stores will continue to trade, Covid-19 restrictions permitting, while a buyer is sought.
Bonmarche remains a separate entity and is not included in the Peacocks administration as it is owned by Day’s Spectre Holdings.
In September, it was revealed that Day had appointed FRP advisory to sound out potential buyers for Peacocks.
It confirmed at the time that this was a valuation process for Peacocks, and not a sales process.
However, it October, EWM Group said accusations from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) about unpaid bills had jeopardised Peacocks’ investment.
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