Mothercare has announced plans to place its UK retail business in administration, putting about 2,500 jobs at risk.

The children’s retailer, which has 79 UK stores, said it will file a notice of intent to appoint administrators for the UK business later on Monday.

Mothercare Ireland is a separately owned entity and its 14 stores are unaffected by the announcement relating to the UK group. The Irish entity, a family-run business which has been trading here for 26 years, will “continue to trade as normal”, its managing director, Jonathan Ward, said.

Mothercare UK slumped to a £36.9 million (€42.7 million) loss in the financial year to March, as it has struggled amid a period of turmoil for high street retailers.

The retailer, which has about 500 full-time staff and 2,000 part-time employees, is set to follow the likes of Bonmarche, Jack Wills and Karen Millen, which have gone bust in recent months.

Review

The global Mothercare group said it has undertaken a review of the UK business and found that it is “not capable of returning to a level of structural profitability”. It said the business is therefore unable to satisfy the cash needs of the UK arm and is therefore filing the notice as part of the restructuring and refinancing process.

Mothercare added that the listed group remains profitable despite the problems facing its UK division. Shares in the parent company dived by 29.2 per cent to 8p in early trading on Monday. – PA