Edinburgh Woollen Mill: Lifeline for jobs after firm accepts rescue offer

Edinburgh Woollen Mill has accepted a rescue offer which could save hundreds of high street jobs.

Due to the financial strains of covid 19 impacting the business, owner Philip Day announced in October that EWM was going into administration.

Since the chain collapsed in November 2020, almost one third of its 2,571 employees have been made redundant.

However, hundreds of high street jobs could be saved after administrators to Philip Day’s empire accepted a rescue offer for the chain, according to a report in The Sunday Times.

A source told The Times that the financial advisory firm FRP Advisory has issued sale contracts to the potential buyer, providing what has been described as ‘a rare ray of positive news in the virus-hit retail industry.’

Yet the deal is likely to save only ‘a small number’ of EWM’s 400 stores, according to the source.

The news comes after the company was given 10 days to find a financial rescue plan in October 2020.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill was at the forefront of Day’s 1,100-store retail empire, including Peacocks, Bonmarché, Jaeger and Austin Reed.

EWM collapsed with £51.6m of unsecured debt, including £17.5m owed to its pension scheme and £10.6m of unpaid tax.

As of March 2019, EWM had £72.5m in cash, which had fallen to £12.5m when it collapsed.

Marks & Spencer is expected to strike a deal to acquire Jaeger, while a planned buyout of Peacocks, led by the group’s head of e-commerce development, Josh Lowes, is said to have stalled.

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