Administrators have struck a deal to save two of Philip Day’s remaining brands Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home.
The two brands have been sold to Purepay Retail Limited, which is backed by an international investor consortium.
Purepay has purchased all remaining stock as well as the head office and distribution centre in Carlisle.
The business plans to continue to operate 246 stores across both brand’s estates, saving the jobs of 1,347 shopworkers, 72 head office staff and 34 distribution workers.
Purepay has closed 75 Edinburgh Woollen Mill stores and 34 Ponden Home stores permanently, affecting 485 jobs.
Joint administrator Tony Wright said: “We have extensively marketed these businesses for sale and this transaction provides the best chance to save stores and jobs, but also meet our own statutory obligations to creditors.
“However, with such little visibility on future trading conditions in UK retail, we regret that not all of Edinburgh Woollen Mill and Ponden Home could be rescued. This has resulted in a significant number of redundancies at a particularly challenging time of year and period of economic uncertainty. We have a team working hard to support all those affected as we help make applications for redundancy payments.”
The Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group agreed to the sale of its Jaeger brand to Marks & Spencer earlier this week.
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