Laura Ashley becomes UK's first retail casualty of coronavirus

High street retailer Laura Ashley has collapsed into administration, blaming the coronavirus outbreak which it says has had “an immediate and significant impact on trading”.

High street retailer Laura Ashley collapsed into administration, announcing the coronavirus outbreak has had “an immediate and significant impact on trading”, says Jessica Clark in City AM. It is the first retail casualty of the coronavirus crisis, and has has placed 2,700 jobs at risk.

The retailer said it was unable to secure third party backing or additional financial support from main shareholder Mui Asia, and has filed notices of its intention to appoint PwC advisers Robert Lewis and Zelf Hussain as administrators.

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Nic studied for a BA in journalism at Cardiff University, and has an MA in magazine journalism from City University. She has previously worked for MoneyWeek.