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Office Outlet in administration putting 1,200 jobs at risk

Office Outlet has gone into administration, placing 1,200 jobs at risk.

The stationery retailer, which trades from 90 sites, used to be part of the Staples empire until the physical UK stores business was sold to Hilco Capital in 2016.

The stores then changed hands again in a management buy-out completed last September after a rescue plan was agreed with creditors which resulted in a few loss-making sites being axed and rents being cut at others.

The so-called Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) took place as the wider high street took a battering from a toxic cocktail of weak consumer spending and rising costs from things like new minimum wage rules and business rates.

Partners at Deloitte said stores would continue to trade as they attempted to find a buyer.

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Joint administrator Richard Haws said: "In addition to a general downturn in trading as a result of the ongoing decline in the stationery market and UK retail in general, the company has recently experienced a reduction in credit from key suppliers, given the economic outlook which has severely impacted the financial position of the company.

"We are hopeful a buyer can still be found for the business in the coming weeks and we will continue to trade the business with that aim in mind."

Office Outlet chief executive, Chris Yates, said: "Over the last two years the business has been transformed from the heavily loss-making old Staples business to a near break-even modern multichannel retailer.

"However, additional growth capital was required to continue delivery of the next stage of the management buyout business plan.

"Despite being highly impressed by the Office Outlet story, potential investors have held back due to retail sector sentiment and the general level of uncertainty."