Republic goes into administration

AS widely predicted, fashion chain Republic has gone into administration with 150 staff immediately made rendundant at its Leeds head office.

Hunter Kelly, John Sumpton and Alan Hudson of Ernst & Young, have been appointed joint administrators and are seeking to achieve a sale of the business which has 121 stores and employs 2,500 people.

Its local stores include outlets at Bullring and The Fort in Birmingham and shops in Sutton Coldfield and Walsall.

The business began as a men’s denim retailer in 1986 under the Best Jeans brand in Leeds. It currently offers casual fashion, under multiple brands to young adults, including Jack Jones and SoulCal.

Joint administrator,Hunter Kelly said: “Republic suffered poor trading results in the autumn, and whilst sales picked up in December there has been a sudden and rapid decline in sales in late January.

“The impact on cash flows has resulted in the business being unable to continue to operate outside of an insolvency process. Unfortunately, it has been necessary to make 150 employees at the head office in Leeds redundant.

“We will continue to trade Republic, with a view to selling the business as a going concern. The brand Republic is well recognised, particularly in the north. It has a powerful website offering, owns well-known brand names, and has some very attractive and profitable stores.

“We are grateful for the continued support of all employees and customers during this time, and would like to thank everyone at Republic for their commitment and hard work as the business continues to trade.”

Ernst & Young have set up a helpline and e-mail address for customers with enquiries – 0113 298 2450 / republicinadmin@uk.ey.com

The retailer is the latest High Street victim after the collapse of photographic chain Jessops, video rentals group Blockbuster and music and dvd retailer HMV last month.

Republic, which is owned by private equity group TPG and had former Asda chief executive Andy Bond as chairman, was co-founded by Tim Whitworth and 12 months ago hired former TK Maxx boss Paul Sweetenham as its new chief executive.

Whitworth, who had been chief executive for ten years, stepped back from the day-to-day running of the business.

It emerged last week that KPMG had been brought in to advise the company on shedding some of its stores, and that Bond was stepping down as chairman.

TPG bought the company in June 2010 in a deal valuing the retailer at about £300m and in which the founders retained a significant stake.

Change Capital Partners, the consumer goods-focused private equity group run by former Marks and Spencer executives Luc Vandevelde and Roger Holmes, sold the business to TPG, which manages a $18bn global fund, contributed about £150m of its own equity to the deal.

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