Ted Baker to call in administrators, hundreds of jobs at risk

The Ted Baker brand was bought for £211 million in 2022. Photo: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg

Ted Baker faces bankruptcy collapse as his US owner prepares to put him into receivership, putting hundreds of jobs at risk.

Authentic Brands Group, which bought Ted Baker for £211 million in 2022, said the retailer had created «significant levels of debt».

It accused the brand of being «damaged» under its previous owner AARC, a Dutch company , which operated its stores and e-commerce operations in Europe.

< p>The debt comes as Ted Baker, formally known as No Ordinary Designer Label (NODL), has faced difficult trading situations in recent years.

Authentic Brands owns nearly 50 fashion, sportswear and celebrity brands, including Reebok and a majority stake in David Beckham's business empire. The company makes money by buying brands and turning them into licenses. Last year it had annual turnover of almost $30bn (£24bn).

Authentic abandoned its deal with AARC in January after making claims against the Dutch company. did not deliver on its promise to inject cash into the retailer.

Authentic Brands said Ted Baker stores and its website will continue to trade as usual.

John McNamara, director of strategy and transition, said: “Despite our tireless efforts, the damage done during the AARC period, when NODL accumulated significant levels of debt, was too great to overcome.”

< p>“We would like to see a better outcome for Ted Baker's employees and stakeholders.

“We hope customers will take some comfort in knowing that NODL will continue to trade online and in stores.

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“We remain focused on finding a new partner to support and grow the Ted Baker brand in the UK and Europe where it originated.”

In its statement, Authentic did not disclose any details about job cuts or store closures.

Ted Baker has more than 80 stores and concessions in the UK and Hiring Employees The company had nearly 1,300 employees as of January 2022, according to the most recent reports available.

Authentic attacked Ted Baker two years ago after a series of profit warnings, accounting problems and the sudden departure of founder Ray Kelvin.

It retained ownership of its brand and intellectual property. ownership and then appointed Dutch company AARC to manage Ted Baker's UK and European stores until the abrupt split in January.