Austin Reed buys Viyella

The clothing retailer Austin Reed has agreed to buy womenswear company Viyella from its administrators, safeguarding about 230 jobs. Viyella had about 450 employees when it went into administration on 7 January. Since then, several stores have closed, including its concessions in the department store House of Fraser.

"There are good synergies between the two companies and we wish Austin Reed a successful future," said joint administrator Andrew Turpin. It is believed that Austin Reed intends to keep open around 21 stand-alone stores and 16 concessions located in other retailers.

Before it went into administration, there were 40 stand-alone stores and 64 concessions. It is not known how much Austin Reed paid for Viyella.

Viyella was founded in 1784. Since celebrating its 200th anniversary in 1984 it has had a number of different owners.It merged with textiles manufacturer Coats Paton in 1986, before being sold to former Queens Park Rangers chairman Richard Thompson for just £1 in 2003. Just weeks later he sold the firm to the investment group Harris Watson, who still owned the business until it went into administration.

Source: BBC