Buyer found for part of Azendi business but 81 staff lose their jobs

However, the joint administrators of Azendi have managed to save 19 jobs by selling part of the business to A to Z Investments.

Leeds-based Azendi went into administration after facing a downturn in trading due to the tough economic conditions.

Adrian Berry, the joint administrator and partner in Deloitte’s restructuring services team, said jobs had been saved at Azendi’s operations in Leeds and Harrogate.

He added: “Regrettably, it has not been possible to find a buyer for all of the Azendi business and therefore it was necessary to make a total of 81 employees redundant across the business. Employees made redundant were paid wages until their last day of employment.”

The failure to find a buyer for the rest of the business, has resulted in the closure of the stores in Aberdeen, Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Leicester, Liverpool, London Kings Road, London Westfield, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Reading, Richmond, Sheffield Meadowhall and York.

There will be seven job losses at Azendi’s former base in Sheffield and six in York.

Andrew Walker, restructuring partner at the Leeds office of Irwin Mitchell, advised the administrators on the sale.

He said: “This is of course positive news for some of Azendi’s stores and particularly the employees who have continued to work under difficult and uncertain conditions in recent weeks.

“It has always been the intention to trade some of the stores and I am confident that under this new structure, A to Z will be able to take the Azendi brand forward and develop its potential.”

According to its website, Azendi was established in Headingley, Leeds in 1989.

Many retailers have struggled in recent months, after consumer confidence was weakened by a combination of sluggish economic growth and the uncertainty caused by the crisis in the eurozone.

[email protected]