Sponsored by
Town centre store closes its doors
MBTC-22-02-12-Peacocks clothing shop in Allhallows, Bedford, closed.
PEACOCKS in Bedford closed it doors this afternoon, just one hour after it was announced the company had been sold.
Administrators KPMG revealed that the company has been sold to High Street retailer Edinburgh Woollen Mill. The sale saw 224 stores close, but 388 were saved.
Customers were told at around 4pm to leave the sore as it was closing down.
Administrators KPMG announced the sale of the business this afternoon at around 3pm that Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which is one of the UK’s largest high street chains, had acquired the Peacocks brand, 388 stores and concessions.
As well as the business’ headquarters and logistics functions in Wales. The deal has protected around 6,000 jobs in the UK.
Unfortunately the remaining 224 stores were not included in the sale and have ceased trading with immediate effect, which included Bedford, resulting in 3,100 redundancies. There will also be approximately 16 redundancies at the headquarters in Cardiff.
Chris Laverty, joint administrator and restructuring partner at KPMG, commented: “Today’s deal ensures the continued trading of a well known name on the high street.
“While it is unfortunate that redundancies have been necessary, we are pleased that we have been able to preserve the majority of the business and jobs.
“Like many other retailers, Peacocks suffered from a decline in consumer spending due to the tough economic conditions and this, combined with a surplus of stores and unsustainable capital structure led to the business becoming financially unviable.
“However, a strong brand presence and loyal customer following meant that Peacocks attracted a great deal of interest from both trade and private equity bidders, leading to today’s successful sale.
“I would take this opportunity to thank the management team and staff for their continued assistance in very difficult circumstances; their support has been invaluable in securing today’s sale.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Bedford
Tuesday 29 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
