M&Co shops wind down to final closure

26 March 2023

M&Co shops are beginning to shut across the country after the company went into administration.

All 170 stores are expected to pull down the shutters by the end of April under a rolling programme of closures as the last of shop floor clothing stock runs out.

The retailer’s website ceased accepting new orders on Friday.

No final date has been announced for the Stornoway store.

Outlets in Wick and Fort William shut for good yesterday (Saturday) while Tuesday is the last trading day for the one in Thurso.

Another round of closures including the Shetland branch will take place in a few days, on Saturday 1 April.

The majority - if not all - of its retail locations are expected to lock up by the end of April with the loss of many hundreds of jobs.

The stores are not owned by M&Co but are rented from different landlords.

Trading for the clothing chain turned sour in 2022 following a profitable period the previous year as customers were cautious over spending cash in uncertain times as slow economic recovery, high inflation and the cost-of-living crisis hitting after the pandemic.

Overdue debts to suppliers were around £12 million and with one supplier set to seek a court order to wind up the firm for an unpaid bill of over £390,000, company directors pre-emptively filed for administration.

Teneo was called in, initially for contingency financial planning November, before being nominated as administrators in December.

With all of its shop premises on lease stocks of clothing - estimated at over £20 million - was the collapsed retailer’s most important asset.

No serious interest in rescuing the business as a whole came forward.

However, the brand name and logos have been purchased by AK Retail Holdings, an east of England clothing group.