M&Co reportedly on brink of pre-pack, around 50 stores could close

Scottish value fashion retailer M&Co is reportedly close to calling in administrators.

The company is on the brink of a pre-pack administration deal that would see the company’s assets sold back to its founders, the McGeoch family, and could result in 50 of its stores closing permanently, Sky News reports. The deal could reportedly be announced as soon as Monday.

A retail executive told Sky that the deal will likely preserve the majority of M&Co’s 2,700 staff.

The family-owned company, which trades from more than 260 stores, called in Deloitte in June to assess options for the business.

M&Co was founded in 1961 by the McGeoch family. It started off as a small business with only six stores in Glasgow before expanding across the UK.

In its most recent results for the year to February 28 2020, the company reported a 40 percent drop in operating profits to 3.6 million pounds, though it managed to more than halve its net debt from 19.2 million pounds to 8.7 million pounds.

If the deal goes through, M&Co will join a growing list of prominent British retailers to have fallen into administration in recent months, including Oasis and Warehouse, Cath Kidston, Laura Ashley and Debenhams.

It comes as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on physical retail, with many companies struggling to mitigate the financial impact inflicted after months of store closures. Companies like Marks & Spencer, Ted Baker, Burberry and John Lewis have announced job cuts in recent weeks.

Photo credit: M&Co, Facebook