The Pensions Regulator and the Insolvency Service reportedly are investigating the collapse of BHS, which has cast a question mark over the jobs of about 11,000 staff.
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Retail footfall figures fell by 2.7 per cent in March compared to a year ago, with shopping centres witnessing declines of 3.7 per cent, according to Springboard’s United Kingdom retail footfall figures.
The 116-year-old clothing chain has a store on Westover Road in Bournemouth.
Alteri’s chief executive, Gavin George, said last week: “We made a decision to acquire the equity and shareholder loans to protect our position as secondary lenders to Austin Reed, behind Wells Fargo who remain senior lender”.
Austin Reed will on Tuesday become the second big high street name to fall into administration in as many days, casting a pall over a further 1,000 retail sector jobs.
“Austin Reed is a well-regarded and iconic brand”, said Peter Saville, one of the newly appointed administrators.
The move to appoint administrators has been on the cards since last week when a notice of intention to appoint was filed.
Customers of the renowned firm have included Winston Churchill and Elizabeth Taylor.
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The indebted chain has long struggled, having struck a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) with its creditors in February that enabled it to offload a host of loss-making shops. The company shut 31 shops over the last 12 months after seeing its annual losses in the year to 31 January 2015 widen from £1.2m (€1.5m, $1.7m) to £5.4m.
