The administrators of Peacocks have today provided an update on the sales process for the business.
Chris Laverty, joint administrator and restructuring partner at KPMG, said:
“We have received huge interest from potential acquirers of Peacocks, following our appointment last week. We had over 100 conversations with interested parties looking at either acquiring the whole business or parts of the business in the first 48 hours alone; whilst the capital structure was not sustainable, the underlying business has a loyal customer base evidenced by strong sales levels in store since our appointment.”
David McCorquodale, corporate finance partner at KPMG, added:
“We are in discussions with both trade and financial investors considering the acquisition opportunity. What is clear is that the Peacocks brand and extensive geographic footprint remain attractive. Therefore, we are hopeful of finding a buyer for all or a substantial portion of the business on a going concern basis.
“We will move quickly to protect value and have set up data room facilities for bidders to review Peacocks’ financials, with initial offers required in short order.”
The joint administrators are trading the company during the sales process and all stores continue to operate as usual.
- Interested parties should contact David McCorquodale at KPMG on 0131 527 6718 or Rob Baxter at KPMG on 020 7311 8246;
- The administrators have set up a general query email address: questions@peacocks.co.uk, and customer helpline number: 02920 270800;
- More detailed information for stakeholders, such as landlords, employees and creditors, is available at www.peacocks.co.uk.
-Ends-
Notes to editor
Richard Fleming, Chris Laverty, Ed Boyle and Joff Pope of KPMG were appointed joint administrators to Peacock’s Stores Limited, The Peacock Group Plc, Peacocks (Nantgarw) Limited, Dorsman Estates Co Limited and Henson No.4 Limited, which together make up the high street budget fashion retailer trading as Peacocks on 19th January 2012. The Peacocks business operates around 563 stores and 48 concessions across Northern Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales and employed approximately 9,600 people. 249 head office staff were made redundant on 19th January, there have been no additional redundancies since then.
For further information, please contact:
Sorrelle Cooper, Senior PR manager, KPMG
sorrelle.cooper@kpmg.co.uk
020 7694 8527 / 07932 078218
Zoe Sheppard, PR manager, KPMG
zoe.sheppard@kpmg.co.uk
0117 905 4337/ 07770 737994
Dave Lafferty, Citypress (contact for Northern press queries)
dave.lafferty@citypress.co.uk
0161 235 0318 / 07545 211 511
Phil Addicott, Big Partnership (contact for Scottish press queries)
phil.addicott@bigpartnership.co.uk
0141 333 9585 / 07824 666 956
KPMG Press Office: 020 7694 8773
Store locations / staff numbers
Please contact the KPMG press team for more detailed information.
About KPMG
KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and operates from 22 offices across the UK with over 11,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.7 billion in the year ended September 2011. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 152 countries and have 145,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. KPMG International provides no client services.
