Here you go! Should cheer a few of you up
High Street tea and coffee seller Whittard of Chelsea on brink of collapseBy Ben Laurance
Last updated at 1:48 AM on 23rd December 2008
The crisis gripping the high street is poised to claim another household name.
Whittard of Chelsea, the tea and coffee retailer, was last night on the brink of falling into the hands of administrators after its funding lifeline was cut.
The company, with 130 UK outlets and a further 30 overseas, has been looking for a rescuer since the beginning of the month. Some 500 jobs are thought to be at risk.
News of the move comes just weeks after the collapse of Woolworths and furniture group MFI.
Although there have been potential suitors - Whittard has received bids from five bidders this month - none has met the asking price.
For the past three years, Whittard has been owned by the stricken Icelandic investment group Baugur.
The company, which paid £21.5million for the store, also has stakes in other high street retailers including Mosaic, Karen Millen, Oasis and Watches of Switzerland.
Icelandic bank Landsbanki, which backed Whittard, cut off funding to the struggling chain in recent days, say sources.
It is thought that parts of Whittard may be salvaged by a so-called 'pre-pack administration', where the firm goes into accountants' hands, but is immediately bought again so most of its business can carry on trading.
Those owed money by the group are unlikely to get it all back.
News of Whittard's expected administration came as figures showed the number of weekend shoppers was down compared with the last pre-Christmas weekend of 2007.
On Saturday, numbers were 11 per cent lower. On Sunday, they fell 8.5 per cent. This year, Christmas falls two days later in the week than it did in 2007, which distorts comparisons.
But Jonathan de Mello, director of retail for Experian, which provided the figures, said yesterday: 'It is too late to catch up now.
'For retailers, Christmas should have happened in the past couple of weeks, and it simply didn't - which explains why so many shops have been running sales.'
Whittard was founded in 1886 as a tea and coffee importer. Its first outlet was on Fleet Street in central London.
The company's importing business was based in Aldgate, in the east end of London. But the premises was hit by a bomb in December 1940 and moved to Chelsea.
Accountancy firm KPMG has been helping Whittard look for a way to escape its funding crisis.
But yesterday, sources signalled the group was on the point of appointing administrators from rival accountancy firm Ernst & Young.
No one from Ernst & Young would comment.
● Struggling sports retailer JJB has closed five stores run by its offshoot Qube.
JJB has been trying to find a buyer for Qube and a second business, Original Shoe Company.
The group has also been trying to sell its health clubs to ease its debt burden.
JB confirmed the five closures yesterday but said it had paid rents on its other Qube outlets across the country.
