A GLASGOW-FOUNDED high street fashion brand that collapsed into administration owed more than £100 million in unpaid debt.
First established in the Scottish city in 1988, Ted Baker went on to be a staple across UK high streets over the decades, selling designer clothing and accessories.
However, the company fell into administration in 2024, leading to more than 900 jobs being lost, with its last 47 stores forced to close. Five of which were in Scotland.
Benjamin Dymant and Daniel James Mark Smith, of Teneo Financial Advisory, were appointed joint administrators by the High Court of Justice in March 2024.
According to an update by administrators, investors and 689 creditors of Ted Baker face losing more than £70m since its collapse, with the firm owing £100m in debt, The Herald first reported.
The firm's books initially showed unsecured creditors being owed around £57m, with administrators stating they have received 689 claims to date for a total of £50.3m, “which is broadly in line with the statement of affairs”.
Creditors listed included Savills in Glasgow, which was owed £42,000, and MJ Mapp Limited, also in Glasgow, which was owed £132,000.
The company owed Ted Baker Holdings Limited (TBLH), an entity controlled by its former owner, around £27.3m, along with £16.4m to the Secured Trust Bank.
The administrators said: “STB has been repaid in full in respect of its floating charge security and has released its fixed charge security. STB’s fixed and floating charge securities have also been recorded as satisfied.”
The US sports and entertainment licensing company, which also owns Reebok ABG, bought Ted Baker in 2022 for £211m.
As part of a restructure of the company in 2023, AARC, a Dutch retail company, was provided with a licence to operate Ted Baker UK operations by ABG, where the transfer of shares of Ted Baker was also included as part of the deal.
The administrators said: “In the period following the acquisition by AARC in June 2023, the company's trading suffered a significant deterioration, and the equity funding expected following the sale did not materialise.
“During this poor performance, the company built up a large amount of arrears with its supplier base totalling £50m.”
Administrators added that they “do not anticipate” that it will be necessary to further extend the period of the administration. The winding-up process is scheduled to end in March 2027.
It comes after it emerged this week that the former Scottish housebuilding giant, Stewart Milne Group, collapsed into administration in 2024 owing more than a quarter of a billion pounds.
According to the Teneo Advisory report, more than £141m is owed to 1361 unsecured creditors.
Among those owed money from Stewart Milne Group is the Bank of Scotland, owned by Lloyds Banking Group, to the tune of around £115m, the administrators’ report indicates.
HMRC was also owed the sum of £1.8m, with 196 claims from former employees also being due around £268,000.
