Austin Reed to close all stores; 1,000 jobs to be lost

Britain’s high streets suffered another blow on Tuesday as it emerged that clothing retailer Austin Reed will close all 120 of its stores by the end of next month, with over 1,000 jobs to be lost after administrators were unable to find a buyer for the majority of the shops.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill owner Philip Day has bought the Austin Reed and Country Casuals brands and five concessions, but no offers have been received for the rest of the business. As a result, administrators AlixPartners will be closing the stores.

"We have explored all options to sell the business since our appointment and continued to trade the business with the support of the secured creditors in what is clearly an extremely challenging retail environment,” said Peter Saville, managing director of AlixPartners.

“Despite a significant number of interested parties coming forward it became clear as the process progressed that a viable solution which kept the business whole was not forthcoming.”

Austin Reed went into administration last month, citing challenging market conditions and cash flow problems, just a day after the collapse of fellow high street chain BHS.

For the year to the end of January 215, Austin Reed posted a pre-tax loss of £5.4m compared to a £1.2m loss the year before, as revenue declined to £100.5m from £109.1m.

The company is no longer accepting new orders through the website.