Jessops owner plans to call in administrators – BBC News, BBC News

        

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Camera chain Jessops plans to call in administrators as its owner, Dragons Den star Peter Jones , tries to salvage the struggling High Street brand.

Mr Jones bought the chain from administrators in 2013 after it collapsed under £ 81 m of debt.

But since then, the firm, which has 46 shops , has not made a single profit and losses have mounted in recent years.

Last year alone, the business, which employs 500 people, reported a £ 13 m loss as rent costs increased to £ 4.7m.

Lease charges, which include rent on stores, increased from £ 4.4m in 2017.

Now Mr Jones is reportedly planning to seek a rescue deal, known as a company voluntary agre ement (CVA) with its landlords and lenders. This is an insolvency process that allows a business to reach an agreement with its creditors to pay off all or part of its debts.

(Sky News said theCVA was expectedto lead to store closures and rent cuts.

But sources close to Jessops said Mr Jones still saw a future in the business and would not say how many of the chain’s stores were at risk of closure.

            

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Mr Jones bought Jessops in March 2013, just months after it had gone into administration and closed its 187 stores.

At the time , he said the chain would reopen some of its High Street shops to give it between 30 and 40 stores across the country.

He told the BBC that he wanted the price charged in store to be the same as online.

“The main reason why I think it’s going to be successful is that it’s going to be a lower overhead base, lower cost,” he said.

Asked then whether there really is a market for cameras that are not integrated into mobile phones, Mr Jones said: “The amateur photographer , you wouldn’t see them walking down the street taking that perfect picture with a mobile phone. “

But interest did not live up to his expectations.

He forecasted sales of at least £ 80 m in the first year under his control. But he failed to turn around the group’s performance and the firm reported turnover of just £ 7.5m for the year.

The chain is the latest High Street brand to acknowledge tough trading conditions.

Last year, big chains such as Toys R Us, Maplin and

Others such as Homebase, Mothercare, Carpetright and New Look did restructuring deals with their landlords, closing hundreds of shops between them.