M&Co closing all stores after administration rescue
Scottish clothing retailer M&Co is set to close all of its 170 stores this spring with the loss of almost 2,000 jobs, following its purchase out of administration.
AK Retail Holdings saved the retailer’s brand but did not purchase its stores, meaning M&Co’s shops will close this Easter.
Global advisory firm Teneo was appointed by M&Co in December of last year, the second time the company has gone into administration in three years, after closing 47 stores in 2020.
M&Co was established in Paisly, Renfrewshire in 1834 as Mackays, before rebranding in 2005.
News of the closures broke through Facebook posts from branches across the UK, which began: “Unfortunately we haven’t received the news we would have hoped for during our administration period, and would like to share this news with you.
“As we haven’t received any funded, deliverable offers that would result in the transfer of the company’s stores or staff to a potential buyer, this means that all of our stores will close.”
Ewan McDonald-Russell, deputy head of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “This sad news reaffirms the need for government to think very carefully before heaping any additional burdens on Scotland’s hard-pressed retail industry.
“It also underlines the need for the devolved administration to think again about the lack of any additional rates relief comparable to that which retailers, hospitality and leisure businesses in Wales and England are entitled to for the coming year.”