Yours Clothing has bought the M&Co website, brand and related intellectual property for an undisclosed sum.
M&Co was one of the UK’s largest privately owned fashion and lifestyle retailers when it went into administration in December. Since then administrators from Teneo Financial Advisory have been running the M&Co website and stores as they looked for a buyer for the business. They will now continue doing so as they wind down the business and clear stock. Once that is complete, the M&Co website will transfer to Yours Clothing.
A spokesperson for Teneo Financial Advisory says the transaction, which closed yesterday, was judged to represent the best option available at the moment for creditors. Its terms are not disclosed.
When M&Co went into administration in December, it employed 1,910 people and sold online through its own website, through third-party websites such as Next, Zalando and Amazon and through 170 shops.
The retailer has been in business for more than 60 years – although it previously failed in 2020, when the family that founded it bought it out of administration. It specialised in serving shoppers in towns and on local high streets.
At the time of the administration Gavin Park, joint administrator at Teneo, said the failure came as the business experience a sharp rise in input costs, which coincided with falling consumer confidence and resulted in trading challenges. “Despite a very loyal customer base, particularly in local markets, and a well-recognised brand, the current economic outlook has placed increasing pressure on the company’s cash position,” he said.
InternetRetailing has contacted Yours Clothing for more detail about its plans for the M&Co brand.
M&Co is a Top100 retailer in RXUK Top500 research. Yours Clothing is ranked as a Leading retailer in the index.
