Maternity retailer Seraphine has ceased trading after “rising costs and brittle consumer confidence” drove it into administration. Most of its 95 employees are now redundant, and today its website and its stores are shuttered.
Seraphine Limited filed to appoint administrators from Interpath yesterday. Will Wright and Chris Pole are now looking at how to dispose of assets including the Seraphine brand.
Will Wright, UK CEO of Interpath, said: “Over the past 23 years, Seraphine has grown to become a well-known and well-loved maternity brand, known for its blend of comfort and style. Unfortunately, the strong economic headwinds that have been impacting a number of the UK’s high street and online retailers, including rising costs and brittle consumer confidence, have proved too challenging to overcome.”
Seraphine, sold maternity and post-natal fashion online and through a number of UK and international stores, from its Kensington High Street, London flagship store to France, Dubai and the US.
Taking stock
Seraphine was founded in 2002 by French entrepreneur Cécile Reinaud. The brand floated on the London Stock Exchange with a market capitalisation of £150.2mn in July 2021. But in January 2023, the Seraphine board decided to take the brand private. A bid by major shareholder Mayfair Equity Partners valued the business at £15.3mn.
At the time, Seraphine said it needed the time and space to focus on profitable growth, free of the demands of being listed on the stockmarket. It cited challenges including the global supply chain and cost-of-living crises in the wake of Covid-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The business also said that it had been “disproportionately challenged” as a small listed company largely reliant on ecommerce. At that point, it was ranked in the Top350 of the RetailX UK500 but has since fallen out of the listing.
Seraphine relaunched its brand identify as recently as April 2025. But as pressure mounted on cashflow, directors explored the possibility of selling or refinancing the business. No options were available, and so it has now moved to appoint administrators. Parties with an interest in the Seraphine business and assets can contact Charlie Carter at Interpath.
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