Shoe shop goes into administration, Adams in limbo
Barratts shoe store, which has a branch in Westfield, went into administration on Monday (January 26).
But administrators Deloitte say all of the company’s stores remain open and are still trading. They say they are contacting the company's creditors with a proposal to rescue Barrats by using a ‘Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA)’ system.
Under the proposal, creditors and landlords will be asked to vary their terms of trade in order to give Barratts “the necessary breathing space” to address issues within the company and then repay any money owed within an agreed timeframe.
"If creditors accept the proposals, the administration would cease, after a 28 day cooling off period, and the Companies would continue to trade under the CVAs, which would remain in place for two years. The Administrators would become Supervisors to ensure that the Companies meet their obligations to creditors. In the meantime, the stores will continue to trade as normal," say Deloitte in a statement.
Meanwhile the administrators of the children’s clothing retailer Adams, which called in Pricewaterhouse Coopers at the very end of 2008, announced on Monday that a further 36 stores would close, on top of the 111 that shut down a few weeks ago.
Monday’s closures will result in 267 job losses, on top of the 850 job losses last month.
The Westfield branch, however, is not on the list slated for closure and is still trading as normal.
PwC say they are still hoping to find a buyer for the remaining stores. “Our priorities are to work with the existing management team to continue trading the business as normal while we continue to pursue a sale. The recent job losses are regrettable but will place the company in a stronger position whilst we explore opportunities to conclude a sale,” PwC said in a statement.
“The remaining 125 stores employing around 1,900 people will stay open as normal while the administrators continue their efforts to find a purchaser for the business.”
January 26, 2009