Beales department stores have appointed administrators this morning, putting the future of the 140-year-old chain in doubt.
The stores’ boss said there were still “active talks with various parties” going on about the future of the business and he hoped it could be saved," the Bournemouth Echo reports .
The company has appointed KPMG to handle the administration.
Beales stores are continuing to trade, although “Closing down sale” signs will appear later this week.
Chief executive and owner Tony Brown told the Daily Echo: “We’re still in active talks with various parties and those talks continue while we go into the administration process.
“I’m still confident of a positive outcome.”
Beales has 22 stores and around 1,300 staff across the country.
Will you be affected if Beales closes for good? Let us know on webnews@mirror.co.uk
The company's website has been taken down, although the stores will continue trading while administrators look for a buyer. All staff will be kept on in the meantime.
Gift cards will still be redeemable as long as the stores continue to trade, and customers will still be able to exchange and refund products.
Which? consumer rights expert Adam French said: "While stores remain open, your consumer rights should be unaffected, but we would advise anyone with Beales gift vouchers to consider spending them as soon as possible.
“If you are planning to shop in Beales and intend to buy something worth more than £100, make sure you use a credit card as you’ll be able to make a claim against your credit card company to recover the money if anything goes wrong.”
Brown said: “While we’ve had a very positive response from all our landlords, which have included Bournemouth, the conversations with BCP Council are exceptionally difficult as they don’t want to set a precedent. The precedent would be to end this lunacy of business rates."
He added that BCP was "no more difficult than most councils but as we have”.
Will Wright, partner at KPMG and joint administrator, said: “For over a hundred years, Beales has been a stalwart of the high street in market towns up and down the UK, but like countless similar retailers, has found trading in recent times to be incredibly tough.
"With the impact of high rents and rates exacerbated by disappointing trading over the Christmas period, and extensive discussions around additional investment proving unsuccessful, there were no other available options but to place the company into administration.
“Over the coming weeks, we will endeavour to continue to operate all stores as a going concern while we assess options for the business, including dealing with prospective interested parties. During this period gift vouchers, customer deposits and customer returns/refunds will continue to be honoured.”
A Government spokesman also confirmed they were in direct contact with the company's chief executive and are monitoring the situation.
"We understand this must be a worrying time for employees and their families. The company has now appointed administrators who are seeking a solution," he said.
"While the Government cannot intervene directly, we are in direct contact with the company's CEO and officials are monitoring the situation closely."
These are the Beales branches at risk:
- Beccles
- Bedford
- Bournemouth
- Chipping Norton
- Diss
- Fareham
- Hexham
- Keighley
- Kendal
- Lowestoft
- Mansfield
- Perth
- Peterborough
- Poole
- Skegness
- Southport
- Spalding
- St Neots
- Tonbridge
- Wisbech
- Worthing
- Yeovil
