Latest news with #Interpath
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Maternity fashion brand blames rising costs for collapse
Maternity fashion brand Seraphine has entered administration, resulting in the redundancy of the majority of its 95 staff. The company, whose clothes were famously worn by the Princess of Wales, appointed Interpath as administrators on Monday. Seraphine struggled with escalating costs and a challenging consumer spending climate, which proved too difficult to overcome. Despite actively seeking a buyer, the firm was unsuccessful in securing a sale before its collapse. The brand had a stock market flotation in 2021 with a £150 million valuation but was taken private for £15.3 million two years later.
Metro
2 days ago
- Business
- Metro
Maternity brand worn by Kate Middleton plunges into administration
A maternity brand worn by celebrities from Angelina Jolie to Princess of Wales Kate Middleton has fallen into administration. Award-winning brand Seraphine, founded in London in 2002, appointed administrators on Monday. Most of the brand's 95 staff have been made redundant and its only physical store, in Kensington High Street in London, has closed. The brand exploded in popularity in 2013 after Kate Middleton wore one of its dresses in the first official family portrait with Prince George. She continued to wear Seraphine maternity and postnatal clothing during all three of her pregnancies, as well as other notable occasions such as meeting the King and Queen of Norway on the official royal tour of Sweden and Norway in 2018. Kate also wore Seraphine when she appeared with Meghan Markle for the first time at the inaugural Royal Foundation Forum. The Kate effect, as well as media coverage of her fashion choices, saw the brand sell out of the designs she wore within hours. Actors Angelina Jolie, Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard, as well as singer Christina Aguilera, have also worn Seraphine designs in the past, further boosting its appeal. At its peak Seraphine won the Queen's Award for Enterprise in 2015 and 2020, the highest accolade for businesses in the UK. As well as several branches in the UK the brand also had branches in New York, New Delhi, Paris, and Hong Kong – but all aside from its flagship in Kensington had already closed when administration was filed. The business was even listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2021, before being taken back into private ownership in 2023. But administrators Interpath said Seraphine had experienced 'trading challenges in recent times', which they say has been exacerbated by 'fragile consumer confidence'. Despite the brand relaunching in April of this year, sales failed to recover and directors made the decision to file for administration on Monday. More Trending Will Wright, UK CEO of Interpath, said: 'Over the past 23 years, Seraphine has grown to become a well-known and well-loved maternity brand, known for its blend of comfort and style. 'Unfortunately, the strong economic headwinds that have been impacting a number of the UK's high street and online retailers, including rising costs and brittle consumer confidence, have proved too challenging to overcome.' Interpath said it will support Seraphine staff made redundant by helping them apply to the Redundancy Payments Service. It is now exploring options for the business and its future, including the Seraphine brand. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: I told my husband 'we're over' after carrying the mental load alone MORE: 'My abusive ex convinced the courts to give him custody of our daughter' MORE: Is it time for 'thigh guy summer'? The best short shorts for men amid heatwave
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Major clothing retailer loved by Kate Middleton collapses into administration and website is shut down
A MAJOR clothing retailer beloved by Kate Middleton had crashed into administration. Seraphine, the maternity fashion retailer beloved by the Princess of Wales, has stopped trading leaving the "majority" of its 95 staff redundant. Advertisement 3 Seraphine became a household name after Kate Middleton wore its designs during her three pregnancies Credit: Getty 3 But the retailer, founded in London in 2002, was hit hard by 'rising costs and brittle consumer confidence', according to its administrators Credit: Getty 3 Cécile Reinaud, who founded the company but left in 2021, has been critical of the direction it took after her departure Credit: Richard Pohle Known for its stylish maternity wear, Seraphine became a household name after Kate Middleton wore its designs during her three pregnancies. The brand's popularity soared, with items selling out after she was spotted in them. At its peak, Seraphine had 10 stores around the world, including in New York, Hong Kong, Dubai, and Paris. However, consultancy firm Interpath confirmed on Monday that it had been appointed as administrators for the company. Advertisement The retailer, founded in London in 2002, was hit hard by "rising costs and brittle consumer confidence," according to Will Wright, UK chief executive of Interpath. He said these economic challenges had proved "too challenging to overcome." Seraphine's flagship store on Kensington High Street and its online shop are now closed, with its website previously offering discounts of up to 60% before becoming inaccessible to shoppers. The retailer's goods were also stocked in well-known outlets like John Lewis and Next. Advertisement Most read in Money The company had been struggling financially for some time. After listing on the London Stock Exchange in 2021 with a valuation of £150m, Seraphine was taken back into private ownership in 2023 when its value had fallen to just £15.3million. Despite a relaunch in April focusing on "form, function and fit," the brand was unable to recover. Popular retailer to RETURN 13 years after collapsing into administration and shutting 236 stores Interpath says it is now exploring options for the business, including selling its assets and the Seraphine brand. If no buyer is found, the company will be shut down entirely, and its saleable assets liquidated. Advertisement Cécile Reinaud, who founded the company but left in 2021, has been critical of the direction it took after her departure. She recently opposed the loss of Seraphine's "unique British heritage" and its signature regal purple branding, which were replaced with a Scandinavian-inspired aesthetic. She said: "My original vision was to create clothes you'd want to wear even if you weren't pregnant. What does it mean when a company goes into administration? ADMINISTRATION is when all control of a company is passed to an appointed to a licensed insolvency practitioner. It doesn't necessarily mean the end of the business. Instead, administrators will try to help a company find ways to repay debts or solve its cashflow problems. Administration can last anywhere from a few weeks to up to a year or more. But if the administration process can't rescue the company or find a new owner, this can lead to liquidation. Liquidation is the process of selling all assets and then dissolving the company completely. "That guiding principle seems to have vanished now." Advertisement Despite its struggles, Seraphine was once a darling of the high street, dressing celebrities like Anne Hathaway, The Princess of Wales even wore the brand for the first official family portrait after Prince George's birth. Staff who lost their jobs because of the company's closure will be helped to make claims for redundancy payments, Interpath said. What are my rights if I'm made redundant? YOU are entitled to statutory redundancy pay if you have worked for your employer for two years or more. The statutory rate is based on your age, weekly pay and number of years in the job. You will get: Half a week's pay for each full year you worked aged under 22 One week's pay for each full year you worked aged 22 or older, but under 41 One and half week's pay for each full year you worked while aged 41 or older. You cannot be paid less than the statutory amount. If you were made redundant on or after April 6 2025, your weekly pay is capped at £719 and the maximum statutory redundancy pay you can get is £21,570. The government has a You may get more than this statutory amount if your employer has a redundancy scheme. Customers are unlikely to receive their orders unless they've already been shipped. Advertisement However, certain card protections will grant you the power to get a refund. If you paid via finance, then you must contact the provider directly. If you've paid for an order via a credit card , you should contact your provider and claim the deposit under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. To make a valid claim the goods or service you bought must have cost over £100 and not more than £30,000. Advertisement It means that if you pay for a big purchase on your credit card and something happens - like the goods aren't delivered or the shop goes bust - your card provider is just as responsible as the retailer for refunding you. Section 75 also applies to goods bought in-store, online, over the phone or mail order. To make a claim, contact your credit card provider - your first port of call should be its customer services phone number - and tell them you want to make a claim under Section 75. It should then send you a claim form, which you can fill in, and your provider will use to process your application. Advertisement You cannot make a Section 75 claim if you paid by debit card. However, these customers have another means to request a refund. Chargeback is a consumer protection mechanism that allows individuals to request a refund from their bank or card issuer if they encounter issues with a purchase made using a credit or debit card. While chargeback is not a legal right in the UK, it is part of the voluntary schemes run by card networks like Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, and is widely supported by banks and financial institutions. Advertisement Here, your bank will try to get your money back from Seraphine's bank. You typically have 120 days from the date of the transaction to submit a claim. Usually, it's just a phone call where you tell the card firm what happened and ask it to do a chargeback. Once you've spoken to your bank you'll need to provide the full details of your transaction with Carpetright. Advertisement Some banks will ask you to fill out a claim form. The chain's administrators haven't confirmed how to claim cash refunds yet. Why is the retail sector struggling? The retail sector has struggled in recent years due to the onset of online shopping and lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic. Higher inflation since 2022 has also hit shoppers' budgets while businesses have struggled with higher wage, tax and energy costs. Advertisement Last month, Polish owner Pepco Group sold Poundland to US investment firm Gordon Brothers for £1 after a downturn in trading. The new owners are now asking the court for permission to close 68 stores and negotiate lower rents on others, with up to 82 more stores potentially shutting in the future. Both Hobbycraft and The Original Factory Shop are also shutting branches as part of restructuring efforts. Higher inflation since 2022 has also hit shoppers' budgets while businesses have struggled with higher wage, tax and energy costs. Advertisement Read more on the Irish Sun The Centre for Retail Research has described the sector as going through a "permacrisis" since the 2008 financial crash. Figures from the Centre also show 34 retail companies operating multiple stores stopped trading in 2024, leading to the closure of 7,537 shops. RETAIL PAIN IN 2025 The British Retail Consortium predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. Research by the British Chambers of Commerce showed that more than half of companies planned to raise prices by early April. A survey of more than 4,800 firms also found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024. Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Fashion label worn by Kate during pregnancy collapses into administration
A maternity fashion firm has collapsed into administration. Seraphine, whose clothes were worn by the Princess of Wales during her pregnancies, appointed administrators from Interpath on Monday. The retailer – which has a flagship store in London's Kensington High Street and also sells online – struggled amid rising costs and a difficult backdrop for consumer spending. The majority of its 95 staff have been made redundant. As its financial woes deepened, it sought to find a buyer but was unable to secure a sale. Will Wright, UK chief executive of Interpath, said Seraphine had 'grown to become a well-known and well-loved maternity brand, known for its blend of comfort and style'. 'Unfortunately, the strong economic headwinds that have been impacting a number of the UK's high street and online retailers, including rising costs and brittle consumer confidence, have proved too challenging to overcome.' Interpath said it was 'exploring options for the business and its assets, including the Seraphine brand'. Seraphine was founded in 2002 by Cecile Reinaud and the brand shot to fame when the princess wore its maternity clothes, which sparked a surge in demand for the label. It floated on the stock market in 2021 with a £150 million valuation but quickly saw its market capitalisation tumble. The group was taken private two years later for £15.3 million by Mayfair Equity Partners.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Maternity label worn by Kate collapses into administration
The maternity fashion firm, whose clothes were worn by the Princess of Wales during her pregnancies, has collapsed into administration. Seraphine appointed administrators from Interpath on Monday in a move that has seen the majority of its 95 staff made redundant. The retailer – which has a flagship store in London's Kensington High Street and also sells online – struggled amid rising costs and a difficult backdrop for consumer spending. As its financial woes deepened, it sought to find a buyer but was unable to secure a sale. Will Wright, UK chief executive of Interpath, said: 'Over the past 23 years, Seraphine has grown to become a well-known and well-loved maternity brand, known for its blend of comfort and style. 'Unfortunately, the strong economic headwinds that have been impacting a number of the UK's high street and online retailers, including rising costs and brittle consumer confidence, have proved too challenging to overcome.' Interpath said it was 'exploring options for the business and its assets, including the Seraphine brand'. Seraphine was founded in 2002 by Cecile Reinaud and the brand shot to fame when the princess wore its maternity clothes, which sparked a surge in demand for the label. It floated on the stock market in 2021 with a £150 million valuation but quickly saw its market capitalisation tumble. The group was taken private two years later for £15.3 million by Mayfair Equity Partners.
