50 1GM Thursday December 3 2020 | the times
Business
5
Almost 1,600 jobs at Bonmarché are at
risk after the womenswear retailer fell
into administration yesterday, dealing
another blow to Britain’s reeling high
streets.
Administrators at RSM have been
appointed to find a buyer for the chain
of 225 shops. No redundancies have
been made and the business is expected
to continue trading while RSM assesses
its options.
It is the second time that Bonmarché
has been placed into administration in
little more than a year and adds to the
woes of Philip Day, the retail entre-
preneur who bought the group in
February. The tycoon’s other brands —
Peacocks, Jaeger, Edinburgh Woollen
Mill and Ponden Homes, employing
about 11,000 people — went into ad-
ministration last month. A source close
to Mr Day had said it was “inevitable”
that Bonmarché would suffer the same
fate.
In a calamitous week for the retail
sector, Debenhams, the department
stores chain, collapsed and Sir Philip
Green’s Arcadia, which is behind the
Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Burton
brands, fell into administration.
Between them they employed 25,000
staff.
The Wakefield-based Bonmarché,
Bonmarché returns
into administration
which is aimed at the over-50s’ market,
was founded in 1982 by Parkash Singh
Chima, who was born in India and
emigrated to England in 1950.
Mr Day, 55, first took control of
Bonmarché last year through Spectre,
his investment vehicle, just before the
womenswear chain’s last collapse in
October 2019. His subsequent deal to
buy its assets out of administration was
completed in February, not long before
the coronavirus pandemic took hold
and the first national lockdown
crippled bricks-and-mortar retailers.
Damian Webb, one of the joint
administrators at RSM, said that
Bonmarché was likely to draw several
suitors. “Bonmarché remains an at-
tractive brand with a loyal customer
base,” he said. “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.”
The Dubai-based Mr Day built up
his empire by acquiring troubled busi-
nesses. While there has been
speculation that he might attempt
to buy his troubled brands out of
administration, it is understood that he
is not planning to front a bid for any of
the chains, although he is willing tolend his support to other potential
buyers.
Bonmarché also fell into adminis-
tration in 2012, when it was owned by
Peacocks. While Peacocks subse-
quently was snapped up by Mr Day,
Bonmarché was acquired by Sun
European Partners, a private equity
firm, which listed the chain on the stock
market in 2013.
High street stores were already
under strain before the onset of the
pandemic. The rise of online fashion
retailers, such as Boohoo and Asos, has
put pressure on businesses with signifi-
cant shop estates, particularly those
that had lacked investment, like
Debenhams and Arcadia. Covid-19 has
accelerated the shift to online shop-
ping. Traditional brands also have
faced mounting competition from
popular mid-market rivals, such as Zara
and H&M.
There are now a host of distressed
retail brands looking for rescue deals in
the wake of the pandemic.
Debenhams had been searching for a
buyer ever since it went into adminis-
tration in April, but this week it has
started to wind down after failing in its
hunt. JD Sports had been considering a
deal, but walked away in the wakew of
Arcadia’s administration on Monday
night. Arcadia is the biggest conces-
sion-holder at Debenhams.Ben Martin Senior City Correspondent
It is the second time that Bonmarché has been placed into administration in littleThe Prezzo restaurant chain became
the latest casual dining business to
change hands yesterday. Cain Inter-
national, a privately held investment
firm led by Jonathan Goldstein, said
that it was acquiring the 180 restaurants
from TPG, the private equity firm.
The price was not disclosed, although
Mr Goldstein said that he was acquiring
its equity and its £57 million of debt.
Leon has appointed advisers to launch
a company voluntary arrangement as
the self-styled natural fast-food chain
seeks to cut its unsustainable rents.
The group, co-founded by Henry
Dimbleby, the prime minister’s “food
tsar”, has hired Quantuma, a business
advisory group, as it continues to suffer
a sharp fall in customer numbers as
tough Covid-19 restrictions are im-
posed nationwide.
In particular, it highlighted its
exposure to the scarcity of city centreWe haven’t bought Prezzo
to shut it, says new owner
Dominic Walsh
CVA to help Leon through lean times
workers, notably in London, where
there was also a decline in tourist trade.
In the second lockdown, it suffered a
70 per cent fall in sales.
Quantuma said that the Leon CVA
“delivers no cuts to existing staffing
levels and preserves the majority of the
firm’s store footprint”. It said that the
controversial insolvency measure was
“focused upon ensuring the business
can deal with the challenges it is faced
with, the uncertainties created by the
pandemic and providing a platform to
return to a more positive trajectory”.
Leon was launched in 2004 by MrDimbleby, 50, a former Bain & Com-
pany consultant, in partnership with
John Vincent, 49, who remains its chief
executive, and Allegra McEvedy, 50,
the chef. It has about 75 restaurants in
Britai, as well as in Washington, Oslo,
Amsterdam, Dublin, Rotterdam and
Gran Canaria.
Mr Vincent said: “The CVA is
intended to provide the company with a
foundation to first survive and then
carefully rebuild. We had a growing and
profitable business before Covid...
Continued lockdowns and restrictions
have made this CVA a necessity.”Dominic WalshDespite recent fears over the brand’s
future, he said it was being taken over as
a going concern, rather as part of a
restructuring, and that the “vast major-
ity” of the sites would be retained.
Prezzo was once listed, but was taken
private by TPG in 2014 in a £300 million
deal. Two years ago it shed 114 loss-
making sites via a CVA.
Other operators to have changed
hands recently include Azzurri, Carluc-
cio’s and Pizza Express.