Studio to call in administrators after funding talks fail

Studio Retail Group announced its intention to appoint administrators on Monday, following discussions on meeting its working capital requirements.

The consumer credit-focussed online retailer said its surplus stockholding required additional working capital funding while the “good quality stock” was sold through to customers.

It requested a short-term loan of £25m from its lending banks to fund the surplus stockholding, which it believed would be sufficient to enable it to sell through the stock.

“Following detailed discussions with our UK lenders, the company has not been able to reach agreement with them to provide the additional funding Studio requires,” the board said in its statement.

“The board therefore now intends to file a notice of intention to appoint administrators to Studio Retail Group and Studio Retail Limited, its wholly owned subsidiary, as soon as reasonably practicable.

“The board is taking this action to protect the interests of its creditors.”

Following consultation with the FCA, Studio said it requested that its share listing be temporarily suspended from 0730 GMT on Monday.

“Further announcements will be made as appropriate,” the board added.

The Studio website was not taking orders on Monday morning, although there was no information on the administration decision on the homepage.

"Sorry, we're not taking any orders at the moment. We'll provide updates as soon as we can," the message read.