Louth’s M&Co is saved following big restructure

The company, which has had a presence in the town for over 40 years, appointed administrators in April as the coronavirus outbreak forced the closure of most UK retailers for almost four months.

M&Co’s chief executive Andy McGeoch said: “It quickly became clear that best way to save most jobs and most stores was to enter administration, with a new company acquiring the assets of the old business, and this process has now been finalised.

“Covid has been by far the biggest challenge our family business has faced in almost 60 years, and I am really pleased that we have been able to maintain a presence in over 200 communities.”

Mr McGeoch continued: “Local economies rely to a huge degree on their town centres and we have seen too many high streets hollowed out by successive shop closures.

“More and more people are beginning to realise that, if they don’t support their town centres, everyone’s quality of living really takes a hit, so we are proud to be playing a part in the drive to shop locally.

“The response from our customers during lockdown was phenomenal. It’s hugely encouraging to hear our customers say how much they have missed us.”

In a recent Sunday Times survey, 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.

The administration process, which is being managed by Deloitte, will see the estate reduced from 265 to 218 stores, with around 380 redundancies from a total workforce of over 2,600.