Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group still owes £167m to unsecured creditors following collapse
Philip Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group empire is understood to still owe money to unsecured creditors following its collapse almost three years ago.
The cluster of retail assets, which included Jaeger, Peacocks, Bonmarché, and Edinburgh Woollen Mill, fell into administration in 2020 after sales declined during the pandemic.
However, administrator reports for the brands now show that £167m owed to unsecured creditors including landlords has not been paid following the businesses collapse, according to reports in The Times.
Documents seen by the outlet show that each of the parties are due to receive dividends worth up to £600,000 (£1.8m in total).
Its Bonmarché brand, which collapsed owing unsecured creditors £23.5m, was shifted to creditors’ voluntary liquidation in 2021, with reports showing that it did not have enough funds to pay a dividend.
Following the retailer’s collapse, Jaeger was snapped up by Marks and Spencer in a £7m deal which excluded the brand’s 63 high street stores.
The rest of the assets were bought by an anonymous investment consortium by the chief operating officer of Edinburgh Woollen Mill and packaged into a company named Purepay Retail.
City A.M. has contacted Edinburgh Woollen Mill for a comment.