Monsoon Accessorize in Lancaster to close as firm goes into administration

The move has left 545 jobs at risk following news that 32 of their stores across the UK, and three in the Republic of Ireland, will not reopen after lockdown restrictions ease.

Founder Peter Simon bought Monsoon Accessorize out of the pre-pack administration almost immediately, but there are still said to be 545 job losses.

This comes after the coronavirus pandemic, and lockdown measures, ruined the company's plans.

It has been reported that the business wrote to their store landlords, saying that the shops would have to close if their rent was not waived amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Due to this, 545 staff members will be made redundant, while a further 450 jobs will be transferred to Adena Brand, which is also owned by Peter Simon.

Monsoon Accessorize have promised to plough £15m into the brand in order to keep the remaining stores open.

In a statement, Peter Simon said: "Ever since I opened the first Monsoon store in Beauchamp Place in 1973, this business has been my passion and my life, and I did not want to see it fall victim to this unprecedented crisis.

"Both Monsoon and Accessorize were trading well before the coronavirus pandemic but the business simply could not withstand the financial impact of having to close all its UK, franchise and joint venture stores for almost three months.

“This deal secures the future of both Monsoon and Accessorize and means we can continue to serve our customers online without a pause."

Tony Wright, joint administrator and partner at FRP, added: "We had to move quickly and decisively to secure the future of Monsoon and Accessorize, as many jobs as possible and the presence of these two iconic brands on the UK high street.

"After assessing a range of options this deal achieves those goals with least disruption to the business in an already challenging retail environment.

"We are now committed to working with Adena Brands as they enter talks with landlords to agree future terms across their store portfolio and look to transfer more jobs to the buyer.

"We'll also be working with the Redundancy Payments Service to support all affected employees through this difficult time."