1000 high street jobs at risk as Jacques Vert owner collapses

A thousand more high street jobs are at risk as the womenswear group behind the Jacques Vert and Precis brands prepares to call in administrators less than a year after its last rescue deal.

Sky News revealed earlier on Thursday that Calvetron Brands Limited, which also owns Dash and Vertex, will appoint Duff & Phelps as administrator in the next 24 hours.

The collapse into insolvency will make Calvetron the latest in a lengthening line of retail casualties amid a toxic cocktail of rising costs and dwindling consumer confidence.

Calvetron, which was previously called Style Group Brands, is owned by a consortium of private investors, and until recently was advised by Harold Tilman, the former owner of fashion label Jaeger.

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People close to the situation said that Calvetron's financial performance had been undermined by weak sales at House of Fraser and Debenhams , the department store chains in which around 300 of its concessions trade.

The company employs almost 1000 people in the UK and about 400 more in Canada and Ireland (Other OTC: IRLD - news) .

Calvetron's collapse into administration will come two days after House of Fraser confirmed a Sky News report that it is pursuing a Company Voluntary Arrangement in a desperate attempt to restructure its finances.

The company was formed from the merger of Jacques Vert and Irisa Group‎ in 2012, but has struggled consistently to tread water in a brutally competitive womenswear market.

High street fashion retailers are enduring the most difficult trading environment for decades.

New Look recently secured approval for a CVA, with plans to close 60 shops at a cost of up to 1000 jobs.

Neither Calvetron nor Duff & Phelps could be reached for comment on Thursday.