Peacocks in Mortimer Street, Herne Bay, due to stay open

by Thom Morris

tmorris@thekmgroup.co.uk

Fashion retailer Peacocks has been bought out of administration - but stores in Ashford, Folkestone, Canterbury, Chatham, Dartford, Westwood Cross and Gravesend have closed with immediate effect.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill, which is one of the UK’s largest high street chains, has acquired the Peacocks brand, 388 stores and concessions, as well as the business’ headquarters in Wales.

The deal has protected around 6,000 jobs.

Stores staying open include Sittingbourne, Maidstone, Sheerness, Dover, Walderslade, Tonbridge, Herne Bay, Gillingham, Ramsgate and Margate.

The remaining 224 stores not included in the sale ceased trading with immediate effect, resulting in 3,100 redundancies.

The loss of the Ashford store sees 16 jobs go, 20 in Canterbury, 20 in Folkestone, 12 in Chatham, 13 in Dartford and 10 in Gravesend.

The 128-year-old company had debts of around £240 million, and went into administration in January when the Royal Bank of Scotland reportedly abandoned talks about a financial restructuring deal.

Chris Laverty, joint administrator at KPMG, said: "Like many other retailers, Peacocks suffered from a decline in consumer spending due to the tough economic conditions and this, combined with a surplus of stores and unsustainable capital structure led to the business becoming financially unviable."