La Senza falls back into administration

Lingerie retailer La Senza has entered into administration for the second time in two years, placing more than 750 jobs at risk, after facing “very difficult trading conditions”. Alshaya, the Middle-Eastern retail investor, which acquired struggling La Senza through a pre-pack administration deal in 2012,

 have called in Pricewaterhouse Coopers after failing to turnaround the chain despite claims that it made “sustained efforts” to make the businesses more commercially viable.

Robert Moran, Mike Jervis and Stuart Maddison of PwC have been appointed as joint administrators of Marnixheath Limited, previously known as Alshaya UK, which trades in the UK as La Senza and Pinkberry, and runs 55 franchise La Senza stores and three Pinkberry outlets in the UK and currently employs 752 staff.

Robert Moran, joint administrator at PwC said: “The challenging conditions in the UK high street are well documented. Like many other retailers, La Senza has been hit hard by the difficult economic environment and a slowdown in consumer spending.”

“The administrators are continuing to trade the businesses as normal for the time being whilst discussions take place with interested parties in respect of a sale. We welcome any approaches to purchase all or part of the store portfolio.”

La Senza enters into administration for second time in two years

La Senza previously went into administration in January 2012, with Alshaya buying 60 of La Senza’s 146 stores in a pre-pack administration deal from administrators KPMG, which resulted in the closure of more than 80 branches and a loss of 1,300 jobs.

In a statement, Marnixheath said: “Every effort has been made for two and a half years to transform and revitalise the La Senza UK business, but it has continued to experience difficult trading conditions, against the backdrop of a challenging economy and the changing dynamics of the UK retail market. We have, therefore, decided with regret that there is no alternative to administration.

“We will work closely with the administrators as they explore their options for the business and if they choose to close all or part of the business, every effort will be made to support staff in finding alternative opportunities for employment.”

Moran added: “There are no immediate plans to close any stores and the administrators shall continue to assess the trading strategy over the coming days and weeks.

“Staff have been –and will continue to be paid for their work. The company and the administrators are making every effort to help staff at this difficult time.”

La Senza's operations in North American and the rest of the world, where it operates more than 150 stores throughout Canada, and 330 stores through its franchise-operated stores in more than 30 other countries around the world have not been affected.

Image: La Senza