Missguided Fashion Retailer on Brink of Collapse

Fashion retailer giant Missguided is on the brink of collapse after being issued a winding-up petition by clothing suppliers who are owed millions of pounds.Missguided has recently suffered from supply chain problems, rising freight costs and increasing competition from rivals like Boohoo, PrettyLittleThing and Chinese firm Shein. It is understood that administrators could be called in as early as Monday.

Last autumn, the fast-fashion company had been rescued by the finance firm Alteri Investors. Over the past few weeks, Alteri has been trying to secure a sale of the business.Insolvency specialists Teneo are providing Alteri with advice on strategic options and it is said that they are ready to step in as administrators if a solvent solution cannot be found.According to the I newspaper, police were reportedly called to the Manchester headquarters office after suppliers turned up and demanded overdue payments. Clothing supplier JSK Fashions issued a winding-up petition on 10 May.

A creditor - in this case, one of Missguided's suppliers - can apply to a court to close a company if it is unable to pay its debts. The idea is the firm's assets are sold and those who are owed money will be paid.The I newsparaper also reported that three suppliers for Missguided warned they are at risk of going under due to outstanding payments from Missguided.A Missguided spokesperson said: "Missguided is aware of the action being taken by certain creditors of the company in recent days and is working urgently to address this.

A process to identify a buyer with the required resources and platform for the business commenced in April and we expect to provide an update on the progress of that process in the near future."330 staff are currently employed under Missguided and their jobs are now at risk. In December last year, Alteri announced redundancies as part of a turnaround plan to save the business.This comes ahead of the announcement of Love Island ditching fast fashion after partnering with eBay in an effort to bring more sustainable fashion.