Hotter Shoes owner Unbound racing to secure funding - report

Unbound - the owner of Hotter Shoes - is reportedly racing to secure emergency funding in an attempt to avoid falling into administration.

According to Sky News, the board of Unbound is trying to raise up to £2m within days to pave the way for the implementation of a restructuring plan.

Sky cited City sources as saying that unless that funding was forthcoming "in the near future", Unbound's board would have little choice but to call in administrators.

Hotter Shoes trades from 17 standalone stores and just under 10 concessions in garden centres.

The company has been struggling for some time and in May announced that a £10m investment from Marwyn Investment Management had fallen through.

Unbound said in a stock exchange announcement on June 27 that it had terminated a formal sale process for the Hotter Shoes business. It also said it had held discussions with major shareholders and had received "some positive feedback" about a share sale to raise between £1.5m and £2m.

Those talks are said to be continuing, according to Sky.

Interpath Advisory, the restructuring firm, is working with Unbound on its contingency planning.

A spokesman for Unbound told Sky: "All options remain on the table and are still being considered, as we previously announced."