Private equity investor saves 800 jobs with Jones takeover
Leeds-based private equity investor Endless has acquired Jones the Bootmaker, in a deal which has saved 840 jobs.
25 underperforming stores and six concessions are not part of the sale and will close immediately. These closures will result in approximately 262 job losses.
Endless were reportedly in talks earlier this week to buy the distressed business from private equity firm Alteri, after it entered administration on Friday.
Will Wright, Steve Absolom and Blair Nimmo of KPMG LLP were appointed joint administrators of A Jones & Sons Limited on 24 March.
It appeared talks had broken down prior to the administration and appointment of KPMG, but now Endless has announced the acquisition nine days after its initial offer was made.
The 160 year-old company has 72 stores as well as a head office.
East Midlands company Jones was originally established in 1857 and sells shoes for men and women under its own brand name and also a range of well-known high end brands.
Endless has invested in The Works Stores, Bathstore.com and The West Cornwall Pasty Company before and formerly owned Peter Black International which was one of the UK’s largest footwear distributors.
Andrew Smith, partner, led the investment for Endless. Mr Smith said: “Jones is a well-known and loved brand on the UK High Street. We recognise that there is a lot of work to be done to transform the Company to secure long-term stability for the business and its employees but we are delighted to be working with the team and can see the opportunities for an exciting future.”
Will Wright, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, commented: “We are delighted that we have been able to rescue such an iconic UK footwear brand as Jones Bootmaker, including a high proportion of stores and preserving a large number of jobs, especially given the current economic pressures faced by retailers across the UK. This deal recognises the value of Jones as a strong and popular high street brand with a loyal customer base.”
Steve Absolom, joint administrator at KPMG, added: “Whilst it is always pleasing to preserve a significant number of jobs, sadly a number of redundancies are to be made at the closed stores. Over the coming days, our priority is to ensure all employees who have been affected by redundancy receive the information and guidance they need in order to claim monies owed from the Redundancy Payments Office.”
The acquisition of Jones by Endless LLP was completed in nine days from the initial indicative offer. Andrew Smith was assisted by Michael Rice, Indra Harrison, Stefan Nowakowski and Paul Denvers.
Sister firm Brantano, which was bought alongside Jones in a £12m deal in 2015, was placed into administration by Alteri last week.
Six stores in the Midlands have closed, two in the North East, the Carlisle store in the North West, eight in the South, four in Scotland and six concessions have been closed as part of the deal.
A national, cross-discipline team led by Gateley Plc’s Corporate Recovery team in Leeds advised on the deal and included senior associate Matt Leech and partner William Ballmann. Other teams involved in the deal included Richard Morton and Lisa Smith (Banking), Andrew Macmillan and Helen Webster (Employment), Peter Budd and Tom Hughes (Commerce, Technology & Media), Phil Gregory and Andrew Boyd (Property) and Tamanna Keir and Emma Wilson (Corporate).
Matt Leech, senior associate at Gateley Plc said: “I’m delighted that we could help complete this deal in just over a week, with the positive result of Endless securing numerous jobs. It was a quick turnaround and the success of that is down to the collaborative approach of the national team we put in place and by working closely with the client on all aspects of the deal. With Endless on board I’m confident that Jones Bootmaker has a promising future ahead.”
