Quiz expected to appoint administrators by next week

Womenswear brand Quiz, which was delisted from the London stock market last week, is reportedly appointing administrators by the end of next week.

Quiz, a cornerstone of the British high street, is lining up Teneo as administrators in a move expected to take place before the end of next week, according to Sky News.

Late last year, the retailer warned that it was set to run out of funds in early 2025. Last week, it was rumoured that it was finalising rescue plans, which were likely to trigger hundreds of job losses.

Now, it has come to light that it is opting for a pre-pack insolvency, which is intended to enable the founding Ramzan family to take control of a restructured business with substantially fewer stores and employees.

Quiz currently operates 62 UK stores and 47 concessions and employs approximately 1,500 people.

Its financial status began to unravel in December when the retailer warned it could need urgent funding following poor sales. It said a year-on-year slump in-store traffic in November led to a "significant reduction in revenues", which were "only modestly" offset by spending over the Black Friday weekend.

In its latest update published on 27 December, Quiz revealed its pre-tax losses had risen significantly, from £1.5 million to £4.7 million, for the six months ending 30 September. Sales dropped 7.5% to £39.1 million, due to a "marked decline in traffic both online and in-store" last month.

Quiz isn't the only retailer under pressure as April's National Insurance hikes loom. Earlier this month, Poundland owner Pepco Group appointed advisors Alix Partners to explore options to recover the brand.

Pepco said it was continuing a "comprehensive assessment" of Poundland to recover trading and get the business back to its core strengths, including a thorough assessment of all costs across the business, as well as evaluating its overall competitive positioning.