Member Article

Administrators called in at La Senza group putting 63 Yorkshire jobs at risk

Middlesex-based Marnixheath Limited, which trades under the La Senza brand has called in administrators after difficult trading.

Robert Moran, Mike Jervis and Stuart Maddison of PwC were appointed as joint administrators of Marnixheath Limited on 1 July 2014.

The company operates 55 stores under the La Senza brand in the UK and three Pinkberry outlets under the Pinkberry brand in the UK. In total the company employs 752 staff across England, Wales and Scotland.

La Senza has 6 branches in Yorkshire, Huddersfield (10 jobs) Leeds Trinity (9 jobs) Leeds White (14 jobs) Sheffield (11 jobs) Wakefield (9 jobs) and York (10 jobs).

The La Senza UK store portfolio was acquired in 2012, but has experienced very difficult trading conditions. This has resulted in the company being placed into administration, despite sustained efforts to make the businesses more commercially viable.

The North American operations of La Senza and throughout the rest of the world remain unaffected by the actions taken in the UK.

Robert Moran, joint administrator at PwC said: “The challenging conditions in the UK high street are well documented. Like many other retailers, La Senza has been hit hard by the difficult economic environment and a slowdown in consumer spending.

“The administrators are continuing to trade the businesses as normal for the time being whilst discussions take place with interested parties in respect of a sale. We welcome any approaches to purchase all or part of the store portfolio.

“There are no immediate plans to close any stores and the Administrators shall continue to assess the trading strategy over the coming days and weeks.

“Staff have been –and will continue to be paid for their work. The company and the administrators are making every effort to help staff at this difficult time. “

Photo: © Copyright Basher Eyre and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .