Mothercare calls in administrators
Struggling baby products retailer Mothercare has called in administrators for its UK business.
The move has put 2,500 jobs at risk as the administrators embark on a phased programme of closures for the company’s 79 UK stores.
In a statement, Mothercare said the UK business was not capable of becoming structurally profitable and that efforts to find a buyer had failed. The company had been attempting to sell the business after closing 55 stores as part of a CVA process.
Zelf Hussain, David Robert Baxendale and Mark James Tobias Banfield of PwC have been appointed as joint administrators of Mothercare UK. They will continue to trade the business but have appointed Gordon Brothers to provide an experienced retail team to work in partnership with Mothercare’s head office, store and divisional teams as the UK store portfolio is wound down over the coming weeks and months.
Hussain said: “This is a sad moment for a well known high street name. No-one is immune from the challenging conditions faced by the UK retail sector. Like many other retailers, Mothercare has been hit hard by increasing cost pressures and changes in consumer spending.”
Mothercare’s profitable international business is unaffected by the move and will continue to trade as normal. The business comprises 1,010 overseas franchise stores across 40 territories.
Clive Whiley, chairman of Mothercare, said: “It is with deep regret and sadness that we have been unable to avoid the administration of Mothercare UK and Mothercare Business Services.,
“The action announced today has been carefully thought through and without it, the existence of the wider group would be threatened. We know it is right for the wider group to ensure that Mothercare remains the leading global brand for parents and young children with a bright and solvent future within the international franchise business.”
