Plans are being put in place to save one of the biggest companies in Wales from administration. Due to debts of £240 million, Peacocks has only ten days to find a new investor before its creditors force the clothing retailers to go into administration.
Currently, over 400 people are employed at the company headquarters in Cardiff, with a further 10,000 employees throughout the rest of the UK. The situation is so severe that Cardiff Central MP Jenny Willott has stepped in, and has scheduled a meeting with Business Secretary Vince Cable to discuss possible options for the company.
Ms Willott said “I’m deeply concerned. The number of jobs involved is just terrifying and it would hit Cardiff particularly badly.
“Peacocks is profitable and I think the banks need to be more socially responsible as well as financially responsible.”
“There are a lot of people depending on these jobs.”
The real problem, according to Peacocks, is the level of debt, stemming from a management buyout in 2006. It claims that operating profits are still level and would be enough to keep the company afloat, were the debt repayments not so steep. However, discussions with lenders including RBS and Barclays have so far proven fruitless despite a spokesperson for RBS claiming the bank “had been and would continue to be supportive of the company.”
Peacocks also owns 117 stores worldwide, having recently successfully expanded into the Russian and eastern European markets. Additionally, the Peacock Group purchased Yorkshire-based clothing retailer Bonmarche in 2002, which it now hopes to sell on, but still plans on appointing an administrator in the meantime.
The question of the future of the Peacock Group has even reached Senedd, where Welsh Assembly Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies plans to raise the issue with the minister of business and enterprise. Mr Davies said “This is very worrying news and comes after an incredibly difficult trading period for many high street retailers.”
“With the head office of the Peacock Group based in Cardiff, distribution centres in Nantgarw, Merthyr Tydfil and Treorchy and with many stores in the area, the impact of this news could be devastating for the region. I have tabled an emergency question to the minister to ask what contacts the Welsh government has had with the Peacock Group in light of this news.”
