249 office staff go at Peacocks

KPMG said it would keep on the remaining 266 employees at the Cardiff offices and continue to run the firm’s 563 stores and 48 concessions as it seeks a buyer for the business.

Peacocks and its parent company The Peacock Group collapsed into administration on Wednesday, placing some 9,600 jobs in jeopardy.

Bonmarche, which is also owned by The Peacock Group, has not yet entered administration but filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators on Monday. The Wakefield-based value fashion chain employs 3,800 staff and operates some 394 stores, including 28 in Yorkshire.

A statement from The Peacock Group said this week it had been reviewing the future of the Bonmarche chain and its role within the group and decided to sell the business.

The group has entered “exclusive talks” with a potential buyer but said that to “protect” the business while the sale process completes, it had filed an intention to appoint administrators.

Chris Laverty, joint administrator at KPMG, said: “It is with regret we have made 249 redundancies at Peacocks’ head office in Cardiff, which follow a commercial review of the staffing levels of the business.”