Ted Baker calls in administrators
Store closures and job losses are expected at Ted Baker after it has emerged the retailer is set to appoint administrators.
No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), which trades under the Ted Baker brand, filed a notice of intention to appoint Teneo Financial Advisory on Tuesday, Sky News has reported.
Although jobs are likely to be lost, no redundancies would be announced on the first day of the insolvency process, one source said.
Since the retailer’s founder, Ray Kelvin, left the company in 2019 amid claims of inappropriate behaviour, it has issued a number of profit warnings and went into the COVID-19 pandemic from a difficult financial position
The retailer was de-listed from the London Stock Exchange in 2022 after it was bought by ABG for about £210m. A subsequent brand licensing partnership with Dutch company AARC was also recently abandoned.
ABG’s chief strategy and transition officer, John McNamara, said: “Despite our tireless efforts, the damage done during a period under AARC in which NODL built up a significant level of arrears was too much to overcome.
“We wish that there could have been a better outcome for the Ted Baker employees and stakeholders. It is hopefully some consolation for customers that NODL will continue to trade online and in stores.
“We remain focused on securing a new partner to uphold and grow the Ted Baker brand in the UK and Europe where it began.”
Last year, a restructuring process saw the retailer let go of around 200 members of its head office staff.
It then secured a long-term lending facility from asset-based lender Secure Trust Commercial Finance. It was hoped that the facility would have provided a “platform for growth” for Ted Baker.