Deloitte administrators step into Barratts again

DELOITTE ADMINISTRATORS have been appointed to shoe retailer Barratts Priceless.

Daniel Butters, Neville Kahn and Adrian Berry, partners at Deloitte were appointed joint-administrators at the business which employs about 3,840 staff.

This is the second time in two years Deloitte has been called to the retailer.

In 2009 Kahn, Butters and Lee Manning were appointed joint administrators. They managed to sell most of the stores to the Ziff family saving about 4,000 jobs out of around 5,500.

The business is headquartered in Bradford and has 191 stores and 371 concessions trading as either Barratts or Priceless Shoes.

Butters said: "Barratts and Priceless Shoes have faced a downturn in trading as a result of the difficult economic conditions. This has been exacerbated by the unseasonably mild weather in recent weeks which resulted in fewer sales across new winter lines. We will continue to trade the stores whilst we seek a buyer for all or parts of the business as a going concern.

"We are working closely with suppliers to ensure the business has the best possible platform to secure a sale, preserve jobs and generate as much value as possible for all creditors."