Peacocks: Half of shops saved

Peacocks has been purchased from administration with around half its shops to be saved. The brand and its stores have been acquired by a senior executive with backing from an international consortium.

Chief operating officer Steve Simpson said 2,000 jobs and 200 stores will be saved.

This is around half the number of stores and workers when it went into administration in November.

The fashion retailer operates in Arbroath, Kirkcaldy and Leven. The chain’s Forfar branch closed suddenly in September.

There is not currently a list of which shops will be saved.

The chain was part of retail mogul Philip Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) fashion empire which collapsed in November.

Mr Day was the biggest creditor of Peacocks and is owed money by the business.

But administrators FRP negotiated a deal with him by signing a deferred loan agreement which will eventually see him get his money out of the company.

A similar deal was set in place with the EWM and Bonmarche brands. Mr Day’s other brand, Jaeger, was sold to Marks & Spencer, where it will become business.

The deal essentially sees the EWM brands – excluding Jaeger – reform under the old management led by Mr Simpson.

Mr Day will not be in control of the business, ending several decades of involvement in the UK high street.

Unsecured creditors, including landlords, suppliers and the taxman, will lose out and are unlikely to get their money back.

According to reports, Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley was interested in Peacocks but administrators failed to reach an agreement with him. an online-only

UNCERTAIN FUTURE: Peacocks’ store on Castle Street, Forfar, closed in September.