Fashion retailer Ted Baker is on the brink of administration, posing a threat to hundreds of high street jobs across Britain.
No Ordinary Designer Label, operating under the Ted Baker brand, initiated steps towards appointing Teneo Financial Advisory as administrators, as disclosed to Sky News on Tuesday.
The impending administration is likely to lead to store closures and job losses, although the extent of these repercussions remains uncertain.
While job roles are in jeopardy, there will be no immediate redundancies announced at the onset of the insolvency process, according to insider reports.
This development follows Ted Baker’s delisting from the London stock market approximately 18 months ago, subsequent to its acquisition by ABG for around £210 million.
Recently, a brand licensing partnership with AARC, a Dutch company, collapsed due to disputes between the involved parties.
Despite the insolvency proceedings, Ted Baker is expected to continue trading.
The retailer’s tumultuous journey commenced in 2019 with the departure of founder Ray Kelvin amid allegations of inappropriate conduct towards female colleagues. Subsequently, Ted Baker faced numerous profit warnings and accounting discrepancies, compounded by navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic from a financially vulnerable position.
In 2020, the company shed hundreds of jobs and raised £100 million to bolster its financial standing.
ABG, Ted Baker’s parent company, has seen a surge in valuation in recent years, following reports of selling a controlling interest in 2019 to a division of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm, for $870 million. ABG boasts ownership of Forever21 and collaborations with notable figures such as David Beckham’s consumer goods empire.
Additional shareholders of ABG include investment firms General Atlantic and Lion Capital, as well as GIC, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore.
John McNamara, ABG’s Chief Strategy and Transition Officer, expressed regret over the situation, attributing the challenges to arrears accumulated during the period under AARC’s management. McNamara affirmed ABG’s commitment to finding a new partner to uphold and expand the Ted Baker brand in the UK and Europe.
Teneo Financial Advisory declined to provide comment on the matter.