Hotter Shoes has been rescued by natural knitwear brand WoolOvers in a pre-pack administration deal.
The sale will see all 421 employees as well as 27 stores and concessions transferred to the privately owned fashion brand.
It is understood that the pre-pack sale will allow owner Unbound to stay out of insolvency proceedings while its board considers its options for the future.
The group appointed Will Wright and Rick Harrison of Interpath Advisory as joint administrations of Beaconsfield Footwear, which trades as ‘Hotter Shoes’, on Tuesday after talks of a sale fell through.
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Unbound revealed last week that it was at risk of collapse as it sought to secure up to £2m in emergency funding from shareholders.
The retailer drafted advisors from Interpath last last month to start preparing emergency restructuring plans after it terminated a formal sale process of its Hotter Shoes brand.
“Following an extensive exploration of options, it became clear that it would not be possible to conclude a transaction on a solvent basis,” the administrator said.
“[Hotter] has been adversely affected by difficult trading conditions in the retail environment, and despite taking steps to address costs across the business, creditor pressure continued to increase.”
Woolovers, owned by European investment firm Verdane, tried to buy Hotter solvently in April but was outbid by a rival offer that was later withdrawn.
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