Peacocks, the fashion chain, is to survive as a high street fixture albeit in slimmed-down form after a rescue deal was agreed with its administrators.
A management buy-out led by Steve Simpson, the chief executive of Peacocks’ sister company Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM), will save around half of the chain’s 400 stores, along with 2,000 jobs.
The buy-out has been backed by a consortium of investors based in Dubai.
EWM Group, the previous owner of Peacocks, has agreed to provide a deferred loan to the consortium behind the buy-out.
Revealed: A deal to salvage Peacocks from the wreckage of Philip Day's Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group empire will result in the closure of hundreds of shops and the loss of at least 2000 jobs. Peacocks' sale to a consortium will be announced tomorrow. https://t.co/dpLbo2Rf45
— Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) April 5, 2021
Peacocks went into administration in November of last year, with the on-again/off-again lockdown restrictions dealing a blow to the cheap and cheerful fashion chain’s survival hopes. Unlike rivals such as Next PLC (LON:NXT), its online operation was not strong enough to pick up the slack from lost sales in the physical stores.