Edinburgh Wool Mill, owner of Peacock, is on the brink of collapse.
The group has appointed managers to rescue struggling businesses hit by “brutal” terms of trade.
If the owners of the Peacocks brand are below, more than 24,000 jobs are at risk.
Edinburgh Wool Mill (EWM) has 1,100 stores for brands, including Peacock, Bombmarch and Austin Reed.
“Like all retailers, the last seven months have proven to be extremely difficult,” said Steve Simpson’s chief executive.
“This situation has been getting worse in recent years as we had to deal with a series of false rumors about our payments and transactions that affected our credit insurance.
“Traditionally, the group has always been traded on strong cash reserves and conservative balance sheets, but these stories, credit insurance cuts — reductions against the background of the lockdown — and now, this second wave of second wave and all local lockdowns have made normal trading impossible.
“So we applied today to the court for a short breathing space to assess options before appointing an administrator,” Simpson added.
The Edinburgh Wool Mill is owned by billionaire businessman Philip Day.
The group is hiring FRP to review the business. A FRP spokesperson said: “Our team is working with many Edinburgh Wool Mill Group subsidiaries to explore all future options for retail brands, including Edinburgh Wool Mill, Yeager, Ponden Mill, and Peacock.”
