Struggling British high street retailer Joules has decided to call in the administrators, becoming the latest UK company to be hit by the cost of living crisis.
The company has three retail outlets in the Republic, including one at the Kildare Village shopping centre, and two in Northern Ireland.
Trading in the coats and wellies retailer’s shares – which have collapsed by more than 90 per cent this year – have been suspended at the company’s request, the London Stock Exchange said on Monday morning.
The company is on the brink of collapse after failing to raise new funding. Joules told the City that it will file a notice of intention to appoint Interpath Advisory Limited as administrators to the Company, “as soon as reasonably practicable”.
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It explained: “The board is taking this action to protect the interests of its creditors” Garden Trading, Joules’ furniture and accessories business, will also file for administration. Joules has suffered from the milder weather this year, as well as the cost of living crisis, which both hit sales in recent month.
Once the administrators are appointed, one of its larger rivals may move to buy former Joules’ assets with Boohoo, Marks and Spencer and Mike Ashley’s House of Fraser said to be in the running.
In August it issued a profits warning, blaming the summer heatwave for plunging sales of clothing such as jackets, knitwear and wellington boots.
Last week, Joules revealed it had approached its founder, Tom Joule, over a possible cash injection following poor sales. It had also hoped that Next, one of Britain’s biggest clothes retailers, would invest in the company to help with its turnaround. However, a deal could not be reached. On Monday, it said that discussions with various parties have not been successful and have now terminated.
The crisis at Joules follows the collapse of online furniture retailer Made.com last week, which led to 320 redundancies and left customers worried about their orders.
Online mattress retailer Eve Sleep also filed for administration, before being rescued by rival Bensons for Beds. – The Guardian
