Nicole Fahri enters administration

British retailer Nicole Farhi has gone into administration. The high-end fashion company, which was founded in 1982 by the French Connection boss Stephen Marks and Nicole Farhi herself, has entered administration hoping to sell the company before

it falls into collapse.

Nicole Farhi currently has a flagship shop in central London, plus five standalone stores, 10 concessions, a website and has a wholesale business that sells to department stores Harvey Nichols, House of Fraser and Selfridges across the UK.

Nicole Fahri will continue trading as normal

The restructuring specialists Zolfo Cooper have been appointed to advise the firm, which employs 75 staff across its retail network, and has another 44 staff employed at its headquarters in London.

Peter Saville, a partner at Zolfo Cooper said: "Nicole Farhi is a very powerful retail brand. Unfortunately, as with many other fashion retailers, the decline in high street spend coupled with rising costs has led to increased financial pressures on the business.

"We are already in discussions with a number of interested parties who value the strength of the Nicole Farhi brand. We intend to continue to trade the business and will be working hard to identify the best possible outcomes regarding preservation of jobs, the value of the business and returns to creditors. As this work continues we will make further announcements as appropriate."

Zolfo Cooper said in a statement that customers with gift vouchers may continue to exchange these for goods as normal and that any returns should be made "as soon as possible" although cash refunds would not be given.

As broadly reported by British media, the collapse has sparked speculation that fashion designer Nicole Farhi herself might become a 'white knight' rescuer of the firm.

French Connection sold the business in 2010, and it later passed into the hands of Kelso Place Asset Management. Nicole Farhi was set up by the designer of the same name in 1982 and was in the French Connection group until 2010. It has had equity injections from different owners since and was bought by Kelso Place Asset Management in January 2012.

Nicole Farhi, who has a CBE, is also known as Lady Hare as she is married to the playwright, Sir David Hare.

Image: Nicole Fahri