All Jaeger shops will close permanently, with stores not part of M&S deal

Jaeger UK stores will be permanently closed

(PA)

All Jaeger standalone shops will permanently close and more than 200 jobs will be lost, administrators for the fashion chain have said, as the high street continues to suffer.

The retailer went into administration in November 2020, and like a number of rivals, it was last year hit hard by having to temporarily close shops for Covid-19 lockdowns.

Jaeger and Peacocks entered administration after a six-week deadline to find a buyer for the retailers, both part of entrepreneur Philip Day’s EWM Group, elapsed.

The joint administrators of Jaeger said they have now completed a deal for the sale of the stock and supporting marketing assets of the brand to Marks and Spencer.

However, the purchase does not include Jaeger’s 63 stores and concessions, which will be permanently closed.

FRP Advisory, which is handling the administration process, said 22 Jaeger head office staff and 211 store staff have been made redundant. The majority of staff were furloughed.

The remaining six head office staff and seven warehouse employees have been retained by the joint administrators to assist them in their duties.

Tony Wright, joint administrator of Jaeger and partner at FRP, said: “The transaction with M&S provides a future for this well-known brand and, in competition with a number of bids, has provided the best outcome for creditors. Unfortunately, we will now progress with the permanent closure of the remaining store portfolio and work with the affected staff to access redundancy payment and support.”

M&S earlier this week said it had bought the brand, and was in the process of finalising a deal to buy its products and "supporting marketing assets". That has now completed.

Richard Price, managing director M&S Clothing & Home said: “We have set out our plans to sell complementary third-party brands as part of our wider Never the Same Again programme to accelerate our transformation and turbocharge online growth.”

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