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Troubled high street fashion chain Quiz has shut 23 “loss-making or unsustainable” stores after falling into administration.
The retailer has closed the underperforming stores across the UK and Ireland, putting about 200 jobs at risk, despite being bought in a pre-pack administration deal by a subsidiary of the founding Ramzan family.
Last month, the company said it was searching for emergency funding, amid fears it would run out of cash by March.
Quiz confirmed that it hired insolvency practitioner Teneo as administrator to Zandra, its subsidiary business which runs its shops in the UK and Ireland.
Administrators struck a deal for Orion, a subsidiary company run by the Ramzan family, to buy a raft of assets, including the Quiz brand and 42 of its shops.
The retailer stressed that the deal will save the majority of jobs at the business.
However, it did not purchase 23 shops, which employed about 200 workers, which have been shut for good by administrators.
They include: Athlone, Athlone Town Centre shopping centre, Brighton, Churchill Square, Bristol, Cribbs Causeway, Derry, Richmond shopping centre, Doncaster, Frenchgate centre, Dundee, Overgate, Enniskillen, Erneside shopping centre, Exeter, Princeshay shopping centre, Falkirk, Howgate centre, Fareham, Whitley shopping centre, Glasgow, Forge shopping centre, Grimsby, Freshney Place, Liverpool, South John Street, Maidstone, Fremlin Walk, Milton Keynes, Silbury Arcade, Motherwell, Brandon Parade South, Newbridge, Whitewater shopping centre, Peterborough, Queensgate shopping centre, Preston, Friargate Walk, Southampton, Westquay Shopping Parade, Swansea, Queens Arcade, Tallaght, The Square and Telford, Telford shopping centre.
Sheraz Ramzan, chief executive of Quiz, said: “The board took the difficult decision to appoint administrators to Zandra Retail Limited in light of the continuing challenging trading conditions impacting the group’s performance.
“We are deeply sorry to those affected by the store closures, including our retail colleagues.
“However, this decision will put the business in a more sustainable footing for the future and protect several hundred jobs as a result.”
Last month, Quiz dropped its listing on London’s AIM stock market in order to save itself cash.
Quiz said sales had been “disappointing” in the Christmas trading period and that its cash reserves are “less than previously anticipated”.
It said the poor trading was partly because of the “impact of inflationary pressures on consumer confidence and spending”.
