1,000 jobs at risk at struggling clothing retailer

A thousand jobs at discount clothing retailer Store Twenty One, which has nine branches in the East Midlands, are at risk after it was revealed that the struggling firm is in talks with its lenders.

It is reported that Store Twenty One’s owners are in talks with lenders State Bank of India after struggling to meet rent payments agreed last year when the business went through a company voluntary arrangement (CVA).

Althought Store Twenty One hasn’t yet broken the terms of its CVA, it is thought that the quarterly rent date due at the end of March could force its Indian owners to shut stores.

The CVA deal last year allowed the retailer to shut 77 shops and an agreement with landlords for 17 of its 202 stores to take a 25pc rent cut. Landlords for more than 80 other stores were asked to accept monthly rents rather than quarterly payments.

Store Twenty One, which is headquartered in Solihull and can trace its roots back to 1932, was a listed company until 2002, but then fell into administration in 2006. It was bought by Indian textile manufacturer Grabal Arok in 2007, but has failed to make a profit since.

If the CVA fails, reports say it is likely that Store Twenty One will be placed into administration.