Luxury tea and coffee retailer Whittard looks set to become the latest high street name to call in administrators, after creditor Landsbanki cut its funding.
The chain, owned by Icelandic retail giant Baugur, has endured a long period of poor sales. Whittard is primarily geared towards tourists, and with fewer people travelling abroad they suffered particularly badly from the crunch.
Baugur bought Whittard in 2005 for the miniscule sum of £21.5m, as the chain struggled to recover from the downturn in tourism caused by the July 7 bombings. Baugur have taken a battering since then; they own a 7% share in Woolworths Group, and have massive exposure across the British and Icelandic high streets.
Whittard was founded on Fleet Street in 1886 as a tea merchant, with its owner soon branching out into coffees. The firm gradually expanded until the 1980s, when it grew rapidly across the Middle East.
Ernst and Young are on stand-by should administrators be required. In the meantime, Whittard say they are still actively seeking a buyer for all or part of the business.
