High street store Peacocks looks set to open 'new stores in 20 former M&Co sites'
25 April 2023, 11:13
High street fashion retailer Peacocks looks set to open 20 new sites in former M&Co stores according to an industry insider.
Among widespread development of the now-vacant sites, Peacocks is planning to open a new location in a former M&Co store in Stornoway, Scotland, in the coming months.
The company is also said to be in "advanced negotiations" as part of a takeover of further M&Co sites, including Saffron Walden, North Essex.
The shutters have gradually come down on M&Co sites after the company fell into administration for the second time in December 2020.
However, the M&Co brand and intellectual property remains intact after it was purchased by Yours Clothing in February.
The majority of M&Co's 170 stores have now closed, with the remaining handful set to shut for good at the end of next week.
Now, according to fashion business magazine Drapers, the retailed has made offers "on a considerable number of stores".
Peacocks currently has around 340 stores across the UK, with the 200 new stores potentially creating around 2,000 new jobs.
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A "property insider" said the move "made commercial sense" as Peacocks was able to access this information through M&Co's administrator Teneo.
It comes a week after it was revealed that over 90 M&Co employees began legal action against over the redundancies after claiming there was no consultation period prior to redundancy.
"What it is doing is saying 'where we are not and M&Co was, we know how well their trade was so we will take the better stores."
"They will pick the better trading stores and also the better fitted stores so all they need to do is a very cheap makeover."
Peacocks has so far declined to comment on the takeover plans.
