Whittards lives on after private equity deal
SCORES of retail jobs have been saved after tea, coffee and crockery chain Whittards of Chelsea was bought out of administration by a private equity firm.
Whittard, which has 130 stores, was put into administration by its previous owner Icelandic group Baugur and immediately sold on to Epic Private Equity, which bought the chain yesterday for an undisclosed sum.
The historic firm, which has 1,000 employees has six stores in the North West – two in Manchester city centre and one in the Trafford Centre, the Cheshire Oaks outlet village,Liverpool and Cheshire.
Ernst & Young had been appointed as administrator of Whittard and oversaw the sale, in a “pre-pack” administration.
Such transactions usually involve agreeing a deal to sell a company before it is put into administration.
Angela Swarbrick, joint administrator, commented: “Fortunately a deal was able to be done that sees the businesses able to continue to trade and the Whittard of Chelsea name, with it’s 122 year heritage, remain on the high-street.”
Meanwhile, there was another casualty on the high street as Sunderland-based chain The Officers Club was also placed into administration after a slump in sales.
Around 900 jobs at the menswear chain were rescued by a business owned by its former chief executive, but 32 out of its 150 store portfolio will close.
