Fashion chain Bank enters administration leaving more than 1550 jobs at risk

Fast fashion chain Bank has been placed into administration, less than two months after being sold by JD Sports Fashion. 

 

Deloitte is handling the administration, which puts more than 1,550 jobs at risk less than two months after it was bought out by restructuring specialist Hilco Capital.  

 

Deloitte's partners Bill Dawson, Daniel Smith and Paul Meadows have been named joint administrators for the Bury-based retailer, which operates 84 stores across England and Scotland. 

 

No redundancies have been made at this time, and the stores are still open.

 

Dawson said: "Bank has struggled in a highly competitive segment of the retail industry and has been loss-making for a number of years.

 

"A review of the business has determined that a solvent turnaround would not be possible and so its director has sought the appointment of joint administrators.  All stores are open as normal, staff have been paid and additional sale discounts will be implemented later this week.  

 

"The company has already been approached by several parties who have expressed an interest in the business and the Administrators are trading as a going concern with a view to progressing these options and seeking further interested parties for some or all of the business.”

 

The fashion arm has been struggling for some time, and in the year to February 1 recorded a pre-tax loss of £8.1m, excluding exceptionals, with gross assets of £51.7m. Its underperformance marred an otherwise strong set of results for the wider group.

 

In fact, investors appeared to approve when JD offloaded Bank to Hilco, with the parent group's share price rising more than four per cent following the news.