TM Lewin puts itself up for sale as the struggle on the high street continues
RENOWNED shirtmaker TM Lewin is in talks with potential buyers as coronavirus continues to cause chaos across the UK high street.
reports how interested parties are being asked to make an offer on the 122-year-old London-based business this week.
The news site goes on to say how an auction on the company will be run by Alantra, a corporate finance firm.
TM Lewin was first founded in 1898 by Thomas Mayes Lewin, who opened his first shop on London’s Panton Street.
The business later moved to the iconic Jermyn Street in the capital.
Today, TM Lewin trades from 66 stores in the UK, as well as five in Australia, and is majority owned by private equity group Bain Capital.
Retailers which could disappear from the high street
THESE retailers have all revealed problems in the last few weeks
- Brighthouse fell into administration at the end of March
- Cath Kidston has been put up for sale to save it from collapse, and administrators are also set to be appointed
- Debenhams entered administration earlier this month so it can continue trading but will close 39 stores
- Laura Ashley announced it was going into administration last month
- Oasis and Warehouse announced they were on the edge of administration earlier this week
- Shoe shop Office has been put up for sale
Bain Capital declined to comment when asked by The Sun.
This newspaper has yet to hear back from Alantra.
The coronavirus epidemic is continuing to wreak havoc across the UK high street, with retail sales recording their worst decline on record.
Sales decreased by 4.3 per cent in March, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) - the worst drop since records began in 1995.
The BRC warned that the fall in income for retailers could result in thousands of people losing work as brands begin to cut budgets.
This month, the UK high street has seen fashion giants Oasis and Warehouse plunging into administration leaving 1,800 members of staff furloughed and a further 202 people made redundant.
Debenhams has also officially entered administration for the second time in 12 months, putting the future of the department store chain and 22,000 jobs at risk.
In more trouble for retailers, Cath Kidston filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators earlier this month.
Last month, Laura Ashley was forced to shut down 70 stores.
Meanwhile, in November, Mothercare collapsed into administration after 58 years on the high street.
It came shortly after the owner of hairdressing chain Supercuts went into administration putting 1,200 jobs at risk.