Woolovers snatches up Unbound Group’s Hotter Shoes in pre-pack deal

Privately owned clothing brand Woolovers has successfully purchased the footwear company Hotter Shoes from Unbound Group just two days after it appointed administrators.

Woolovers, which sells knitwear, jewellery and home accessories, has acquired Hotter Shoes through a pre-pack sale. This enables Unbound Group to stay out of insolvency proceedings.

Immediately following their appointment, the joint administrators  – Will Wright and Rick Harrison from Interpath Advisory – concluded a sale of the business to Woolovers Group Limited. As part of the sale, all 421 employees and 27 stores and concessions have transferred across to Woolovers.

Will Wright, head of Restructuring at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, commented: "High-cost inflation and fragile consumer confidence is starting to place mounting pressure on companies up and down the high street."

Jack Brazier, Director at Interpath Advisory who advised on the transaction, added: "We’re pleased to have concluded this transaction which safeguards the future of the Hotter business, and wish WoolOvers Group all the very best for the future."

This news followed a stock exchange announcement on 27 June, when Unbound revealed that it had terminated a formal sale process for Hotter Shoes. However, the company had been on the brink of collapse since May after announcing that a £10 million investment from Marwyn Investment Management had fallen through.

Since then, the company ran out of options and had no choice but to appoint administrators. On Monday, the group said it would continue discussions with interested third parties in regard to the acquisition of the operating company.