Jaeger to cut 233 staff and permanently shut all stores after sale to Marks & Spencer

Administrators for Jaeger have said that 233 staff will be made redundant following the heritage fashion brand’s acquisition by Marks & Spencer.

As expected Jaeger’s 63 stores and concession will be permanently closed after they were not bought as part of the deal.

Administrators at FRP Advisory said that 22 head office staff and 211 store staff have been made redundant as a result.

Six head office staff and seven warehouse staff have been retained by the administrators to assist them in their duties.

On Monday, M&S sealed the deal to buy the brand and stock for an undisclosed amount, understood to be around £5m.

Jaeger was placed into administration alongside sister firm Peacocks in November by Dubai-based owner and retailer Philip Day.

The tycoon’s EWM Group had already called in administrators for its Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home business earlier in November. These two businesses were saved earlier this week by Pureplay Retail, a vehicle controlled by Day and other investors, however a number of stores were closed as a result.

Tony Wright, joint administrator of Jaeger Retail Limited 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.”

The move to buy up Jaeger fits with M&S’s new strategy of selling third-party brands, with existing tie-ups with the likes of Nobody’s Child and Ghost.

M&S is also thought to be among those in the running for some of Sir Philip Green’s collapsed Arcadia Group brands, such as Topshop.

Last week at M&S’s Christmas trading update, chief executive Steve Rowe explained the rationale behind teaming up and buying new brands.

He said: “M&S wants to build a curated set of brands and merchandise largely for our online business but also through filling some of that excess space we have in stores.

“We’ve got no intention of turning M&S into a department store at all. This is about finding and partnering with adjacent brands. Adjacent in terms of style, adjacent in terms of customer base that enhance the M&S offer and make it the place to go to for an online shop.”