Officers Club menswear chain sold

Dec 23 2008

A major British menswear retailer has gone into administration.

The Officers Club was put up for sale by auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP after seeing business hit by the credit crunch.

Joint administrators Ian Green, Steve Ellis and Nick Reed announced that 118 of the 150 stores had been sold, securing the jobs of more than 1,000 members of staff.

But the remaining 32 stores will close immediately.

Mr Green, joint administrator and partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in Leeds, said TimeC 1215 Limited, a company backed by David Charlton, chief executive of The Officers Club, had purchased the business and assets of the 118 stores.

He said: "We are delighted to be able to announce this sale, resulting in the preservation of over 900 jobs, particularly at this challenging time in the retail sector. The sale to TimeC 1215 Limited represents a significantly better result for the creditors of the companies than any other alternative."

Mr Charlton said: "We are very pleased to be able to secure this deal and protect the employment of over 900 people in the stores and head office. We welcome the opportunity to take the business forward and look forward to a successful future."

The firm was started in Sunderland in the early 1990s and sourced clothes cheaply from Asia, selling them under its own-brand labels.

It grew rapidly and, after buy-outs, became Britain's biggest menswear-only retailer, with flagship stores in the North East and on London's Oxford Street.

The sale followed reports that up to 15 High Street names may go into administration in the new year because of the difficult trading conditions. The Officers Club struggled to find a niche after it tried to move into the middle market from its origins as a value retailer, according to one industry expert.