The US owner of Ted Baker said it plans to appoint administrators for the fashion retailer, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.
The No Ordinary Designer Label, which is owned by the Authentic Brands Group (ABG) and trades as Ted Baker, filed a notice of intention to appoint Teneo Financial Advisory as administrators today (Tuesday, March 19). The move is expected to result in store closures and job losses - however, the scale of this is still unclear.
One source told Sky News that "no redundancies would be announced on day one of the insolvency process". According to reports, the fashion brand currently runs around 86 stores in the UK. All Ted Baker stores continue trade as normal. The news comes after Ted Baker was delisted from the London stock market after it was bought by ABG for around £210million about a year and a half ago.
This isn't the first time the fashion brand has almost buckled under financial strains. Just last month, it was reported that Ted Baker was close to collapse, and was considering a restructure to save the business. In 2020, the retailer also axed hundreds of jobs and raised £100million to shore up its balance sheet.
Earlier this year, Ted Baker walked away from a partnership with Dutch arm AARC, which ran the retailer's shops and online businesses in Europe. The deal ended after Ted Baker accused the firm of failing to meet its investment promises.
In a statement, ABG's chief strategy and transition officer, John McNamara, said: "Despite our tireless efforts, the damage done during a period under AARC in which NODL built up a significant level of arrears was too much to overcome. We wish that there could have been a better outcome for the Ted Baker employees and stakeholders. It is hopefully some consolation for customers that No Ordinary Designer Label will continue to trade online and in stores. We remain focused on securing a new partner to uphold and grow the Ted Baker brand in the UK and Europe where it began."
Ted Baker was founded by Ray Kelvin in Glasgow in 1988 and is headquartered in Fitzrovia. Kelvin left in 2019 following allegations of inappropriate behaviour. The Mirror has approached Teneo for comment.