It has been confirmed that Manchester-based online fast fashion retailer Missguided has appointed administrators in attempts to save the brand.
The multi-channel fashion retailer – which sells clothes primarily aimed at 16-35 year old women, and had its headquarters based in Stretford before moving to Trafford Park in 2015 – was founded by Nitin Passi back in 2009 when he was just 26, and it grew grew into one of Britain’s biggest online-led fashion retailers alongside ASOS and fellow Manchester-based fast fashion brands, Boohoo and Pretty Little Thing.
But now, Missguided has asked Teneo Financial Advisory to sell its business and assets.
It comes after the business was issued with a winding-up petition by clothing suppliers, who are owed millions of pounds.
Teneo said Missguided will continue to trade while it looks for a buyer.
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Gavin Maher from Teneo said there was “a high level of interest from a number of strategic buyers”.
The Manchester-based online fast fashion retailer was founded in 2009 / Credit: Missguided
He added in a statement: “As we continue to see, the retail trading environment in the UK remains extremely challenging [and] the joint administrators will now seek to conclude a sale of the business and assets, for which there continues to be a high level of interest from a number of strategic buyers.”
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The company employs around 330 staff members, with The Guardian reporting that about 140 jobs are thought to be at risk, and the publication citing a source as saying that more than 80 people had immediately been made redundant.
Reports suggest that rival and larger online fashion retailer, Boohoo – which bought a number of collapsing high street brands during the COVID-19 pandemic – had been in talks to buy Missguided in a prepack administration deal, and JD Sports and ASOS are also thought to have shown some interest, but a deal was not made.
The fashion retail company moved its HQ to state-of-the-art offices in Trafford Park in 2015 / Credit: Google Maps
In efforts to pinpoint why Missguided was on the brink of collapse, industry professionals and marketing experts said not only were some rival brands better, cheaper, and faster, but that shoppers now care more about sustainability and less about fast throwaway fashion.
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Julie Palmer – a partner at insolvency firm Begbies Traynor – also told the i newspaper that the cost of living crisis means shoppers are cutting back on spending on non-essentials like the fast fashion Missguided offers.
She said: “While Missguided boomed when we were locked down with no opportunity to spend wages going out, the harsh realities of post-pandemic life are becoming clear.”
The company has now asked Teneo Financial Advisory to sell its business and assets / Credit: Missguided
Ms Palmer added: “Rising inflation and worries about the potential for a recession mean that people just aren’t willing to spend on what they don’t need.
“Hopefully a buyer will see the potential in this company that means its suppliers continue to find an outlet for their products.”
Featured Image – Channel 4
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Middleton to receive a cinema and Metrolink as part of regeneration plans
Thomas Melia
Greater Manchester town Middleton is about to undergo a huge facelift thanks to a new regeneration project, including a new cinema and Metrolink tram station.
Middleton is one of many bustling communities that make up the borough of Rochdale, and with these new plans, the town might receive a fair few new visitors who want to know what it’s all about.
The Greater Manchester town is undergoing a huge transformation with regeneration plans confirming that Middleton will receive a brand new cinema complex along with an extended Metrolink line as part of the Bee Network expansion covering this area.
This is all thanks to Middleton teaming up with the Mayor to launch the Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC), which pushes forward regeneration plans for the town and future ideas.
Middleton Shopping Centre right in the heart of the town centre.Middleton Town Centre bustling as the markets take place.Credit: Steven Haslington (via Geograph)/@Rept0n1x (via Flickr)
The MDC considers lots of aspects of the town and even aims to create new homes and improve surrounding public spaces.
Middleton regeneration plans have been floated previously, but complications arose due to a lack of land and available funding, which ultimately brought these foundations to a halt.
Now it seems the green light has been lifted and Middleton is about to get a whole new facelift, which will not only improve the town economically but aesthetically too, along with the wider Rochdale region.
For many Middletonians, the idea of a cinema may have felt like a distant memory, with their last big screen location shutting down just over a decade ago.
This all-new high street regeneration will not only bring an array of shopping favourites back to the town centre but also the long-awaited return of a local cinema. Most importantly, the plans also include a slate of new housing, with an estimated 300 apartments set to be created in one building alone.
Early CGIs of the proposed Middleton regeneration plans.Grade II-listed Warwick Mill looks set to be turned into flats.Credit: Publicity Picture (supplied)
This all falls in line with the ‘Atom Valley scheme‘, which has been commissioned in order to generate over 20,000 job opportunities for people in Bury, Oldham and Rochdale.
The scheme also mentions how it aims to bring a combined economic boost of around £1 billion to these previously mentioned areas.
Rochdale Borough Council leader, Neil Emmott, said: “The development of 1.2 million square metres of employment space around the junction 19 area will help to generate 20,000 high-quality jobs and bring a £1 billion economic boost.”
Featured Image — Publicity Pictures (supplied via Rochdale Borough Council)
News
Scouting For Girls announce stacked UK tour with Manchester date
Thomas Melia
British boyband Scouting For Girls are heading out on an extensive UK tour with dates up and down the country, including right here in Manchester.
If the first thing that pops into your mind when you read this headline is “I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t know how we’ll make it through this”, then you’re on the right side of history.
Nearly 20 years since their single ‘She’s So Lovely’ reached catastrophic heights and had everyone putting on their best Roy Stride accent, Scouting For Girls are heading back on the road.
This UK tour announcement comes two years after their last project, The Place We Used To Meet, reached our ears and was coined by the band as “Our best work since our debut”.
It’s been 18 years since this Brit trio captivated our hearts with their eponymous debut album, which sold over one million copies and went number one on the UK official charts for two weeks.
Whether you know them for ‘Heartbeat’ or ‘Elvis Ain’t Dead’, it’s clear to say this band had their fair share of smash hit singles throughout the noughties.
This tour, however, celebrates the sophomore follow-up: Everybody Wants To Be On TV, which went on to continue their legacy and secure them their only number one, ‘This Ain’t A Love Song’, back in 2010.
Now, the boys are treating UK fans to an array of live performances, and if you can’t make one date, fear not because there are 20 different locations for you to choose from.
The group will also be playing the likes of Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle and a whole host of other Northern cities, so you have plenty of chances to catch them.
If you can’t wait all the way until March 2026 for your next Scouting For Girls fix, lead singer Stride has his own cameo account where you can get the star to read out a message or even sing you a song: “‘Michaela Strachan’ in full, please?…”
Scouting For Girls are coming to O2 Apollo in Manchester on 21 March 2026, with tickets going on sale next Friday, 2 May at 10am HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
31st May 2022 
