Joules to appoint administrators, trading suspended on AIM

The board of Joules has decided to appoint Will Wright, Ryan Grant and Chris Pole of Interpath Advisory Limited as administrators to the company and Joules Limited after discussions to raise funds collapsed.

Joules has 1,600 employees and 130 UK stores.

Additionally, the company will appoint Will Wright and Ryan Grant as administrators to The Garden Trading Company Limited and Joules Developments Limited.

In light of the above, the board also announces that it has requested a suspension of trading in the company's ordinary shares on AIM with effect from 07.30 a.m. today.

Joules on brink of administration

The company said in a statement that the Joules board is taking this action to protect the interests of its creditors.

On November 7, 2022, Joules announced it was in advanced discussions with a number of strategic investors to provide a cornerstone investment in an equity raise process.

The company also said that it was in discussions regarding a bridge financing proposal. However these discussions with various parties have now been terminated.

Earlier this year, high street giant Next was gearing up to invest 15 million pounds into Joules.

But that deal was scrapped after Joules warned it expected to deliver a full year loss before tax and adjusted items “significantly below current market expectations”.

In May, Joules issued a profit warning, with the company citing that the cost-of-living crisis was impacting its sales across its full-price range and gardening products.

The news Monday comes after British retailer Made.com collapsed into administration last week.