Edinburgh Woollen Mill administrators hail ‘strong performance’
The firm managing the administration of Edinburgh Woollen Mill today hailed a “strong performance” for the first half of the year.
FRP Advisory said that revenue had risen 14 per cent year-on-year to £35.4m, while earnings had increased seven per cent to £9.7m.
It said that it had achieved the growth even though the number of firms falling into administration had declined significantly due to the government’s various support packages.
The company added that Edinburgh Woollen Mill was an example of the “larger and more complex mandates” it was now winning.
The clothes brand went bankrupt earlier this month, putting more than 2,000 jobs at risk.
FRP said that 750 Edinburgh Woollen Mill staff and 116 employees of Ponden Home, one of its brands, would be made redundant immediately.
Commenting on today’s update, chief executive Geoff Rowley said: “We continued to execute our growth strategy during the first half, delivering another pleasing performance, increasing our headcount and strengthening our referral client base.
“The medium-term outlook for our market is positive, despite the substantial degree of uncertainty around the shape and scale of the UK’s economic recovery.
“The group has sufficient resource flexibility to service an increase in demand. The board remains confident of making further progress in the current financial year.”
FRP said it had a cash balance of £15.2m and an undrawn credit facility of £5m.