Phillip Day’s Peacocks acquires Bonmarché

Embattled high street retailer Bonmarché  has been sold to Peacocks, part of Phillip Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group (EWM).

According to Drapers, Peacocks has acquired around 200 stores and is in talks with landlords or whether it can acquire the remaining sites.

Bonmarché has a store count of around 270.

It comes after Peacocks was named as the “preferred bidder” to acquire Bonmarché in November last year.

The bid package from Peacocks was chosen by administrators FRP Advisory, who felt it was “the best opportunity to maximise returns for creditors and sell the business on a going concern basis”.

The restructuring firm was appointed administrator for the troubled retailer in October 2019, and joint administrators Tony Wright, Alastair Massey and Phil Pierce supervised the process.

At the time, FRP Advisory confirmed that 30 “underperforming and unsustainable” stores would close before 11 December. Some 25 head office and management roles were also made redundant during the administration process.