Select CVA approved by 94% of creditors

Select has confirmed that 94% of its creditors approved a company voluntary agreement at a meeting in central London on Friday, but that it will focus on cutting rents instead of closing stores.

The vote will save around 2,000 jobs at the womenswear chain, which operates 183 stores across England and Wales. It also has a centralised head office and warehouse facility, plus online trading.

According to advisory firm Quantuma, which helped the business draft the CVA plan, Select does not intend to close any stores. The proposal was formulated by Select directors with the assistance of Andrew Andronikou, Andrew Hosking and Carl Jackson.

“The proposal primarily seeks to obtain the approval from a number of the company’s landlords to accept a reduction in rent for some stores with an option to take back loss-making sites, which appears to reflect the current prevailing issues for businesses trading on the high streets,” said Andrew Androniku.

“The company is committed to protecting employment and following the acceptance of the proposal, will seek to continue to operate all of its UK sites.

“In doing so, this should provide stability to landlords and staff with further costs savings to be achieved via economies of scale and a controlled review of operational costs and structures to be conducted outside of the CVA proposal.”

Select revealed it had fallen on hard times at the end of last month, blaming the “depressed retail market” and rising rent costs for a decline in sales. The CVA was considered to be the only option for the womenswear brand, aside from closing down the business.

Select is owned by Genus UK, which made a loss of £1.5m on sales of £81m in the year to June 2016.

Select CVA approved by 94% of creditors

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