Beales crashes into administration putting more than 1,000 jobs at risk

British department store Beales has collapsed into administration, putting up to 1,000 jobs at risk. The firm has appointed KPMG as administrators after a buyer could not be found.

Beales is one of the country’s longest-running retailers and has been in business since 1881. However, the company reported an annual loss of over £3.1m.

There are no immediate closures of the firm’s 23 shops, and no job losses have been announced – however, the company’s website has been taken down.

Beales had tried to secure rent reductions with landlords across the country and were in negotiations with potential investors and buyers up until this morning’s announcement.

A KPMG statement read: “Despite interest from a number of parties, this process did not secure any solvent solutions for the company, and as a result, the directors took the difficult decision to place the companies into administration.”

KPMG’s Will Wright, who is the joint administrator to Beales, said: “With the impact of high rents and rates exacerbated by disappointing trading over the Christmas period, and extensive discussions around additional investment proving unsuccessful, there were no other available options but to place the company into administration. Over the coming weeks, we will endeavour to continue to operate all stores as a going concern while we assess options for the business, including dealing with prospective interested parties.”