Ted Baker to close 15 stores starting in DAYS – check if your local is on the list

TED Baker will close 15 stores with some pulling down their shutters in days after the retailer fell into administration.

Administrators for the fashion chain have confirmed sites across England will close permanently.

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Eleven stores will all have shut by April 19 while a further four will close in the coming weeks.

Sites in Birmingham, London, Cambridge and Liverpool are all affected, with 120 staff set to lose their jobs.

Administrators Teneo said all 11 stores are loss-making with no expectation they will become profitable.

They added 25 head office employees will also lose their jobs as part of today's announcement.

Four stores will also close after notices were served prior to Ted Baker falling into administration.

This will result in a further 100 redundancies, Teneo said.

This is the full list of branches closing from within days:

• Birmingham Bullring
• Bristol
• Bromley
• Cambridge
• Exeter
• Leeds
• Liverpool One
• London Bridge
• Milton Keynes
• Nottingham
• Oxford
• Bicester (notice served before administration process)
• Brompton Road, London (notice served before administration process)
• Floral Street, London (notice served before administration process)
• Manchester Trafford (notice served before administration process)

Benji Dymant, joint administrator said: “Ted Baker is an iconic British brand with strong partners around the world.

"These store closures, whilst with a regrettable impact on valued team members, will improve the performance of the business, as Authentic continues to progress discussions with potential UK and European operating partners for the Ted Baker brand to bring the business back to health.

"We would like to thank Ted Baker team members and partners for their ongoing efforts and support at this difficult time."

Ted Baker, which currently runs 86 stores across the UK, crashed into administration last month.

No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), owned by Authentic Brands Group (ABG) and trading as Ted Baker, appointed Teneo to oversee the administration process.

John McNamara, chief strategy and transition officer for ABG, said the company had wished for a better outcome for employees.

He added: "We remain focused on securing a new partner to uphold and grow the Ted Baker brand in the UK and Europe where it began."

As recent at February, ABG said it was exploring several cost-saving measures to shore up the company's "soaring" costs.

This followed ABG, which also owns Reebok and Juicy Couture, rescuing the high street brand as part of a £211 million deal in 2022.

It comes after years of turmoil at the group.

Ted Baker started struggling in 2019 after founder Ray Kelvin quit his role following allegations of harassment.

Several profit warnings, a statement advising the stock market company profits will be lower than expected, followed.

In 2020, the retailer said it would axe 160 jobs, branding 2019 a "challenging year".

Ted Baker isn't the only retailer left struggling on the high street.

The Body Shop fell into administration just last month, putting hundreds of stores at risk of closure.

Wilko and Paperchase have collapsed since last year too, in a blow for shoppers.

What does going into administration mean and how does it work?

When a company enters into administration, all control is passed to an appointed administrator.

The administrator has to leverage the company's assets and business to repay creditors any outstanding debts.

Once a company enters administration, a "moratorium" is put in place which means no legal action can be taken against it.

Administrators write to your creditors and Companies House to say they've been appointed.

They try to stop the company from being liquidated (closing down), and if it can't it pays as much of a company's debts from its remaining assets.

The administrator has eight weeks to write a statement explaining what they plan to do to move the business forward.

This must be sent to creditors, employees and Companies House and invites them to approve or amend the plans at a meeting.

A Notice of Intention is used to inform concerning parties that a company intends to enter administration.

It is a physical document which is submitted to court, usually by directors aiming to prevent a company from being liquidated.

Like with a standard administration process, a Notice of Intention stops creditors from taking out any legal action over a company while they try and rectify the business.

Your rights in redundancy

Companies can choose to cut their workforce and employees should understand their rights.

You are entitled to statutory redundancy pay, but only if you have worked at your job for two years or more.

The statutory rate is based on your age, weekly pay and number of years in the job.

You will get:

• Half a week’s pay for each full year you worked aged under 22
• One week’s pay for each full year you worked aged 22 or older, but under 41
• One and half week’s pay for each full year you worked while aged 41 or older.

But it's capped at 20 years and the max redundancy pay you can get is currently £19,290, if you were made redundant on or after April 6, 2023.

Some companies may offer to pay more than the statutory amount. This will usually be in your contract.

Plus, you are still entitled to any pay you are owed for untaken holiday days at the end of your notice period.

The government has a calculator on its website to help you work out how much you are owed.

Ted Baker opened its first UK store in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1988, then second and third in Manchester and Nottingham respectively.

It currently runs branches across the world, including in Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.

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