Luvyababes, the Manchester-based high street fancy dress chain, has been bought by its current directors in a pre-pack administration deal worth £70,000.
The fancy dress chain – which had six stores across the north of England and a successful ecommerce digtal platform – entered administration last month, owing more than £400,000 to creditors.
Loss-making stores located in Bury and Bolton were closed in December 2019, leaving the Manchester, Leeds, Derby and Nottingham branches open.
The firm called in administrators from Leonard Curtis in January, before being bought by Okyloki, a company which is run by Luvyababes founders David and Amanda Williams, as an overall restructuring of the business.
Some 44 staff will be transferring to the new company, while four staff have been made redundant.
Luvyababes attributed the difficulties faced by the fancy dress business to the downturn in high street sales, saying it had suffered from increasing overheads and losses as a result of the underperforming Bury and Bolton branches. In the six months to 30 September 2019, Luvyababes made a loss of £350,000.
According to administrator Harry Guthrie, who looks after business restructuring at Leonard Curtis, Luvyababes’ unsecured creditors are currently unlikely to receive what it is owed to them. However, the new business will have the opportunity to take fresh commercial decisions going forward.
