Brantano UK placed in administration
Value shoe retailer Brantano UK has been placed into administration. The move has put 2,000 jobs at risk.
Tony Barrell, Mike Jervis and Rob Hunt of PwC have been appointed as joint administrators to the retailer which operates 140 stores and 60 concessions across the UK and has a head office in Coalville in Leicestershire.
Acquired by Alteri Investors in October 2015, Brantano went into administration after experiencing “difficult” trading conditions despite sustained efforts to make the business more commercially viable.
Tony Barrell, lead administrator at PwC, said: “The continuing challenging conditions for ‘bricks and mortar’ retail stores are well documented. Like many others, Brantano has been hit hard by the change in consumers’ shopping habits and the evolution of the UK retail environment.
“The administrators are continuing to trade the businesses as normal whilst we assess the trading strategy over the coming days and weeks. Staff will be paid their arrears of wages and salaries, and will continue to be paid for their work during the administration.”
PwC deals partner Robert Moran, who is leading the sales process, added: “Brantano is an established value shoe retailer in the UK and Jones Bootmaker/Brantano businesses attracted considerable interest during the 2015 sales process. We are now assessing interest in the UK Brantano business as a whole or its parts and we welcome approaches from interested parties.”
