EWM Group close to appointing administrators

Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, which owns the retail chains Jaeger, Peacocks and Austin Reed, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators. The move could put around 21,500 jobs at risk, with the group blaming “hard trading conditions” due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The notice of intention provides the group with ten days’ protection from its creditors and its stores will continue to trade as a review into the firm and its options is carried out. EWM Group, which is owned by businessman Phillip Day, has 1,100 stores and concessions.

EWM has been seeking a buyer for several weeks and says it has received several expressions of interest for parts of the group.

Announcing that the firm would appoint FRP Advisory as administrators to carry out a restructuring, EWM Chief Executive Steve Simpson said that “significant cuts and closures” would be inevitable. It has been reported that the group’s online retailers Austin Reed and Jane Norman are likely to close for good.

Smith commented: “Like every retailer, we have found the past seven months extremely difficult. This situation has grown worse in recent weeks as we have had to deal with a series of false rumours about our payments and trading, which have impacted our credit insurance.”

“Traditionally, EWM has always traded with strong cash reserves and a conservative balance sheet but these stories and the reduction in credit insurance, against the backdrop of the initial lockdown, current local lockdowns, and the second wave of Covid-19 reducing footfall, have made normal trading impossible.”

“As directors we have a duty to the business, our staff, our customers and our creditors to find the very best solution in this brutal environment.”

Some analysts have cited the group’s older customer base being reluctant to visit stores during the pandemic as a reason for its struggles, along with its underdeveloped online offering.

An FRP Advisory spokesperson said: "Our team is working with the directors of a number of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group subsidiaries to explore all options for the future of its retail brands, including Edinburgh Woollen Mill, Jaeger, Ponden Mill and Peacocks."


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