Iconic UK high street shop future at ‘pivotal crossroads’ after 150 years | UK | News
An iconic British high street brand is at a “pivotal crossroads” as its family owners split, an expert has said. Russell & Bromley has been around for 150 years, but its future is now uncertain. Some members of the founding Bromley family are advocating for a sale of the company to Auralis, which has proposed a deal that would protect all 450 jobs, 37 shops, as well as the firm’s distribution centre, it has been reported.
Others, however, want to see a sale to Next and stock clearance specialist Retail Realisation, it is thought, which would reportedly close all shops and put most jobs at risk. Now, Hayley Songhurst, senior associate in the dispute resolution team at Birketts LLP, has weighed in. She said: “Russell & Bromley, the fifth-generation family-owned premium footwear retailer, is at a pivotal crossroads. The disagreement among its family shareholders over the company’s future could have been avoided with careful succession planning, a shareholder’s agreement and proper governance.”
She added: “The family owners will have to decide between immediate liquidity and a clean transition to UK’s leading retail group Next or preserving family legacy through continued ownership or stewardship under a like-minded investment firm.”
The Times reported that cracks within the Bromley family already begun to emerge as some shareholders lost confidence in a strategy led by Andrew Bromley, a fifth-generation member.
They came to believe that a sale was the safest option given present difficulties in the retail market, which is understood to have created a division.
This is because the chief executive is thought to have remained committed to his long-term plan, and resisting outside membership, which it done for more than a century.
Retail Realisation is linked to Modella Capital, an investment firm that recently bought WHSmith, Claire’s and Hobbycraft, it is reported.
Modella is part of the Hay Wain group, which is controlled by the former Touche Ross and RJP accountant and turnaround expert Jamie Constable, The Guardian reported. His group now includes Retail Realisation.
Express.co.uk has contacted Russell & Bromley for comment.
