The joint administrators to Paul Simon (London) Ltd have announced the sale of the business and assets of seven stores to Lewis Home Retail, reports Deloitte. The stores, sold on Wednesday, were Colindale, Chelmsford, Edmonton, Harlow, Hayes, Lakeside and New Malden, with the retention of 73 jobs.
However, the administrators have also announced the closure of a further eight stores – Reading, Worthing, Gillingham, Ashford, Enfield, Beckton, Slough and Bristol – with the loss of 59 jobs. The Reading and Gillingham stores will close on 5th May, and the remainder later in the week. Five other stores were closed in April.
Commenting on the announcement, Lee Manning, Deloitte partner, said: “We are pleased to have some good news during the administration of Paul Simon. However, this is not a sale of the brand and we will see clearance sales at the closing stores. This market remains challenging, especially for out-of-town retailers, and the increasing importance of online sales caused an erosion of margins.”
The administrators will continue to trade the remaining 30 stores while seeking a buyer for all or parts of the business as a going concern. There were originally 50 leasehold retail stores.
Lee Manning and Nick Edwards were appointed joint administrators on 2nd April 2014. Any customers with queries about deliveries should visit the company website, which will be regularly updated.
