Peacocks braced for job cuts
PEACOCKS administrator KPMG was locked in rescue talks with the remaining bidders this weekend to decide the fate of the collapsed discount fashion retailer.
The firm is expected to make a final decision on the sale of the 600-store chain as early as this Wednesday. But even if a sale is agreed, hundreds of underperforming shops are likely to be closed under the new owner.
Property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle has been lined up to advise on the disposal of surplus stores after the sale has been completed, it is understood.
Three bidders were still in the race this weekend to buy Peacocks, which collapsed last month after rescue talks, including injecting fresh equity and a debt-for-equity swap with its 18 lenders, ultimately failed.
It holds around £750m debt according to KPMG, while it made sales of £720m in the year to April 2010.
Alshair Fiyaz, the Pakistani business tycoon, is understood to still be looking at the company in partnership with the Danish investment fund Solstra Capital Partners, while the identity of the other bidders remains unclear.
Peacocks’ 9,300 staff wrote to KPMG last week urging any potential buyer not to break up the group, and to keep its head office, where 249 staff have already been made redundant last month.
“Many of us are young, many are earning the national minimum wage and will be facing long-term unemployment if we lose our Peacocks jobs”, the letter said.
A “Save Peacocks” Facebook page has won more than 15,000 members and a petition has collected more than 27,000 signatures.