Bonmarche calls in administrators, 1,500 jobs at risk

Bonmarche has collapsed into administration for the second time this year, placing 1,500 jobs at risk.  

Damian Webb and Gordon Thomson of RSM have been appointed as joint administrators of the store, with the “intention to continue to trade” while options for the company were explored.

In a statement the firm said it “will shortly be marketing the business for sale and based on the interest to date, we anticipate there will be a number of interested parties.”

They added that upon appointment “no redundancies or store closures have been made”. 

Bonmarche had previously entered into administration last year which resulted in the permanent closure of 30 stores before the firm was eventually bought out by retail mogul Philip Day in February.

The retailer, which is part of the Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mills group, is the latest series of the chain’s subsidiaries such as Peacocks, Jaeger, Austin Reed and Jacques Vert to fall into administration, putting a further 4,700 jobs at risk.

The last two months have proven to be extremely fatal for big names on the UK highstreet. Just this week retail giant Arcadia and department store Debenhams also collapsed, placing thousands of UK workers at risk of unemployment. 

Damian Webb, RSM, said: “Bonmarché remains an attractive brand with a loyal customer base. It is our intention to continue to trade whilst working closely with management to explore the options for the business. 

“We will shortly be marketing the business for sale and based on the interest to date we anticipate there will be a number of interested parties.”

He added: “We would like to thank the Bonmarché staff for continuing to support the business during these challenging and uncertain times for those individuals personally.”