Jigsaw is considering a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in order to close some of its 75 stores and cut rents on others.

The fashion retailer, which employs around 900 people, brought in KPMG last month to look at rent negotiations, while Cavendish Corporate Finance was hired to find new external investors or a potential sale process.

Jigsaw’s parent company Robinson Webster most recent reports showed a two per cent decline in group turnover to £102 million in the year to 29 September 2018.

Gross profit margin for the group was 63 per cent, compared with 62.5 per cent in 2017. Operating losses rose from £500,000 to £9.5 million, while underlying adjusted earnings fell 85 per cent to £400,000.

Previous statements blamed falling profits on industry headwinds, which led to a reduction in consumer confidence and footfall on the High Street. These trends have been exacerbated by the recent Coronavirus lockdown, which has hit fashion retail particularly hard.

Earlier this year, Jigsaw hired Beth Butterwick, the former chief executive of Karen Millen, to work on a project on an interim basis.

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