Bathstore has appointed BDO as administrators after a period in which difficult trading exacerbated the problem of finding a buyer for the business. BDO will continue to trade the business which operates from 135 UK stores and will be seeking a buyer. The business plans to fulfil “as many orders as possible” but will no longer offer installation services. Bathstore is the latest in a number of retailers hit by a slowdown in home sales and consumers delaying their spend on major home refurbishments.
The business employs 531 staff. BDO Partner Ryan Grant commented: “Despite significant investment into the business over the past five years, Bathstore has struggled to overcome the well-documented challenges facing the retail sector.” Commentators have said that Bathstore was operating too many stores and had too much competition for fewer customers from chains of broader based DIY stores.
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