Zolfo Cooper administrators called to Nicole Farhi fashion retailer
Peter Saville leads administration of fashion retailer Nicole Farhi which has had three owners in as many years
ZOLFO COOPER ADMINISTRATORS have been called to collapsed fashion retailer NF Fashion Ltd, which trades as Nicole Farhi.
The company was founded in 1982 by French fashion designer Nicole Farhi and has five standalone stores as well as ten concessions through the UK and Ireland.
Peter Saville, (pictured) Fraser Gray and Anne O’Keefe, partners at Zolfo Cooper, were appointed joint administrators to NF Fashion Ltd and NF Acquisitions Ltd.
The administrators plan to continue trading the business, which currently employs about 75 staff in retail and 44 staff in its London headquarters, while they seek a buyer.
NF Fashion has had a turbulent few years having been owned by three separate organisations in as many years. In 2010 French Connection sold the company to private equity business OpenGate Capital, which last year sold the retailer to another private equity company Kelso Place Asset Management.
Administrator Saville said: “Nicole Farhi is a very powerful retail brand. Unfortunately, as with many other fashion retailers, the decline in high street spend coupled with rising costs has led to increased financial pressures on the business.
“We are already in discussions with a number of interested parties who value the strength of the Nicole Farhi brand. We intend to continue to trade the business and will be working hard to identify the best possible outcomes regarding preservation of jobs, the value of the business and returns to creditors.”
The administrators have also said that gift vouchers will continue be redeemed at standalone stores.
NF Fashion had revenues of about £11.8m but made an operating loss of about £2.3m for the year ended January 2011, according to its latest Companies House information.
The high street has recently taken a hit with furniture retailer Dwell also collapsing at the end of June, meanwhile Ark, ModelZone and Internacionale are all set to enter an insolvency process this month.