Joules Set To Fall Into Administration Putting 1,600 Jobs At Risk

Around 1,600 jobs are at risk at Market Harborough-based Joules after the fashion retailer announced it is set to appoint administrators.

The company, the town’s biggest employer, says talks with investors aimed at getting some emergency cash in have failed.

Around 400 people work at the company’s Rockingham Road headquarters and it has 130 shops.

Cllr Phil King, Leader of Harborough District Council, gave his reaction to HFM:

In a statement Joules said: “On 7 November 2022, the company announced it was in advanced discussions with a number of strategic investors to provide a cornerstone investment in an equity raise process.

“The company also announced it was in discussions regarding a bridge financing proposal in order to enable continued progress to be made with the re-financing plans referred to above.

“The board confirms these discussions with various parties have not been successful and have now terminated.”

Harborough MP Neil O’Brien gave his reaction to HFM:

 

Joules has been struggling against the backdrop of rising costs and flagging sales as consumer budgets are squeezed by the highest inflation for 40 years.

The company had been racing against time to secure more cash ahead of a deadline to make a loan repayment of £5m due at the end of the month.

Kyra Williams, President of Market Harborough Chamber of Trade and commerce has described the news as ‘heartbreaking’ :

 

Joules had been talking to several investors, including Tom Joule who founded the business at a country show in 1989, but could ultimately find no agreement on the proposed cash call or bridging loan.

Mr Joule said it was a “sad day for me personally” as he got to grip with developments:

“We recognise our business has become too complex and our model today is not aligned to succeed in the current, tough trading environment.

“Over the last two months I have been back working as part of the new executive leadership team to simplify the business and improve operations.

“Whilst we have made significant progress during this period, regrettably we simply could not make the required changes to the model quickly enough in this challenging environment.

“For our stakeholders, including our customers and our people, we recognise today’s news will be deeply unsettling, and we are sorry for this. However, we would like to reassure everyone it remains business as usual right now.

“It is my hope to be able to continue to play an important role in creating Joules products for our customers that reflect our brand and values.

“It is my strong belief that Joules remains a desirable, differentiated brand that, with the right model and structure, can thrive again.”

The company has also suspended trading of its shares on the stock market.