POPULAR value fashion retailer M&Co, which has a store in Welshpool, has collapsed into administration, putting stores across the UK at risk, amid reports one is set to close.

It was revealed yesterday that the high-street brand had called in the administrators, for the second time in two years, after a sharp rise in costs put increased pressure on its accounts.

The fashion retailer, which currently has around 180 UK stores has appointed Teneo Financial Advisory as administrator.

In a statement a spokesman for Teneo said: “Like many retailers, the company has experienced a sharp rise in its input costs, which has coincided with a decline in consumer confidence leading to increased pressure on cash flows and trading losses.

“No immediate redundancies have been made and the joint administrators are exploring a potential sale of the business in an accelerated timeframe, during which time the company will continue to trade from its stores and website.”

The Northern Echo reported that staff at the chain’s Northallerton branch in Yorkshire were told on Saturday (December 10) morning that it would be closing its doors.

It comes just a week after the Echo’s sister titles the Bournemouth Echo and Worcester News reported that stores in Dorset and Droitwich had closed at short notice.

The Dorset store closed on Saturday November 26, and posted online to say they had only been given news of the closure a day earlier.

M&Co previously fell into administration in August 2020, when it was bought back by its Scottish owners the McGeoch family in a pre-pack deal that saw it close 47 stores.

M&Co’s long-established store in Welshpool, located on Broad Street, was one of more than 200 of the company’s UK outlets to be saved in 2020, following a financial restructuring exercise which preserved over 2,200 jobs.

The company, which has had a presence in the town for over 10 years, appointed administrators in April as the coronavirus outbreak forced the closure of most UK retailers for almost four months.

In a Sunday Times survey at the time, M&Co was voted 14th Best Large Company to work for in the UK. It was founded in 1961 and has expanded from its Scottish roots to towns throughout the UK.

M&Co also has Welsh stores in Monmouth and Penarth, as well as one just across the Shropshire border in Bridgnorth, with another in nearby Stourport-on-Severn.