The clothing and home furnishings retailer, Laura Ashley are reportedly on the verge of calling in administrators by this end of this month if they fail to secure a £15m cash injection from the current owner of Homebase Hilco Capital.
Laura Ashley currently operate 150 stores in the UK and if they fail to secure the funding then a total of 2,700 jobs could be lost, which would also result in another blow to the already struggling retail industry and indeeed the high street. Laura Ashley, however, blamed its troubles on a “significant” drop-off in trade with no prospect of an end to the coronavirus crisis in sight.
“Based on the company’s revised cashflow forecasts and the increased uncertainty facing the group, the company expects that it will not be in a position to draw down additional funds from third party lenders in a timely manner sufficient to support working capital requirements.”
