Business & Technology
UK retailer in administration with 33 stores axed owing £59m
Administrators said all remaining stores including two in Scotland have closed with 400 staff made redundant, and revealed how the final moments of the historic high street firm unfolded.
Russell & Bromley, operating across the UK including in Glasgow and Edinburgh, slumped into administration earlier this year and Next acquired the brand name and some assets including three of its 36 stores, two in London and one in Kent, in a pre-pack deal.
Familiar combined pressures of falling sales and increasing operational costs squeezed the firm founded in 1880 in Sussex and it could no longer offset deepening losses.
It specialised in “premium leather footwear and handbags, recognised for distinctive design and craftsmanship”.
A spokesperson for Interpath Advisory told this column the remaining 33 stores have now been shuttered.
“Following the announcement regarding the sale of the Russell & Bromley brand and certain assets to Next plc, the joint administrators can confirm that a phased closure programme for the remaining Russell & Bromley stores is now complete,” the spokesperson said.
“All stores that did not transfer to Next as part of that transaction closed.
“Regrettably, these closures mean that the majority of employees working in the non‑transferring stores have been made redundant.
“The administrators and their teams are engaging closely with all affected staff and will be providing support throughout the process, including assisting individuals in submitting claims to the Redundancy Payments Service.”
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A report shows that when Will Wright and Chris Pole of Interpath were appointed joint administrators in January the total owed was £59.3m.
The historic footwear and accessories firm had racked up losses of £20m spread over the last two years.
“Historically, the business was funded from existing cash reserves, however, in recent years, a number of freehold properties were sold to fund the ongoing loss-making operations,” administrators said.
“The group was relatively highly loss-making, with these losses due to a combination of falling sales, increasing operational costs and a relatively high fixed cost base.
“Further to this, the wider UK market has been difficult for retail businesses with challenging trading conditions characterised by high inflation and suppressed consumer demand.”
Statement of affairs
In the statement of affairs three months after the administration, the estimated total deficiency is £35.7m, with assets including those available for preferential creditors at £8m, assets available for secondary preferential creditors £8m, surplus as regards preferential creditors £5.6m, surplus of assets after floating charges £4.8m, and assets available to unsecured creditors £5.6m identified.
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The administrators also said: “As at the date of appointment, approximately £2.1m was drawn on the trade finance facility.
“Immediately following the appointment of the joint administrators, NatWest applied their rights of set off, and used the company’s cash at bank to reduce their indebtedness to nil.”
The firm also owed His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs £3.2m.
“It is expected that HMRC may receive distributions from other group insolvencies in respect of the same group VAT claim,” Interpath said.
“Based on current estimates, we anticipate that unsecured creditors may receive a dividend. We have yet to determine the amount of this, but we will do so when we have completed the realisation of assets and the payment of associated costs.”
Former Prime Minister Theresa May famously included a Russell & Bromley discount card in the official register of MPs’ interests.
Thames Valley-based Grundon was recognised for its health and safety performance throughout 2025, with the award presented by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
Reg Hodson, head of SHEQ at Grundon, said: “We are delighted to receive the RoSPA Gold Award once again.
“This achievement is a testament to the commitment and professionalism of our employees, who put safety at the heart of everything they do.
“Maintaining the highest standards of health, safety and wellbeing is fundamental to our business.
“This recognition reflects the dedication of our teams across the company and our ongoing commitment to creating safe and healthy environments for our employees, customers, contractors and the wider community.”
The RoSPA Awards, now in their 70th year, have grown to become the world’s largest and most prestigious health and safety awards programme.
Originally established as a small event to recognise organisations prioritising worker safety in the UK, the programme has expanded to attract around 2,000 entries from nearly 60 countries in 2026.
Grundon’s award was presented at a ceremony held on June 30.
RoSPA Gold Award winners are recognised for achieving a ‘very high level of performance,’ according to the organisation.
Winners also demonstrate strong risk management practices and ‘well-developed occupational health and safety management systems’.
Britwell Salome Farm Shop, on Red Lion Farm in Watlington, was given a one star rating by South Oxfordshire District Council environmental health officers following a routine visit.
One key problem on the day was the management of food safety, which was deemed to require “major improvement”.
One category noted as being “generally satisfactory”, however, was the cleanliness and condition of both the facilities and building.
Meanwhile hygienic food handling was deemed as “improvement necessary”.
The farm shop was previously handed a five out of five rating in July 2024.
Last month Britwell Salome Farm Shop was named ‘local food and drink champions’ for the south east in the Countryside Alliance Awards 2026.
Ms Mearns said her family, including herself, her husband and their three children, set up at Red Lion Farm in 1993 and took over the chilled unit in the barn when it became vacant in 2008, to begin selling the farm’s meat, including pork, beef and lamb, directly to customers, from field to fork.
The shop also stocks a large selection of other locally produced food, from seasonal fruit and veg from a farm in Stanton St John to local honey from the village, jams and preserves which raise money for Oxford homeless charity Porch, as well as bread baked fresh in Thame.
Britwell Salome Farm Shop was approached for a comment.
The Henley Distillery was slapped with a two-out-of-five food hygiene rating after an inspection by environmental health inspectors in January this year.
Although inspectors deemed the hygienic food handling and management of food safety ‘generally satisfactory’, they deemed the cleanliness and condition of the facilities and building needing necessary improvement.
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This includes having appropriate layout, ventilation, hand washing facilities and pest control to enable good food hygiene.
The company is no stranger to poor food hygiene ratings, given a one-out-of-five food hygiene rating in 2024, and another one in 2025.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail in 2024 the founder and master distiller Jacob Wilson said the low score was unfair and he was shocked by the rating.
He said: ““Unfortunately due to the diverse nature of businesses in South Oxfordshire, they do not have specialists in each field to run their audits which meant our auditor had never even set foot in a distillery before visiting us.”
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The Henley Distillery at Hampstead Farm was opened in 2021 and produces gin and rum in the historic barn in the countryside.
Henley Festival, which is also sponsored by champagne brand Moet and Chandon, is currently taking place, kicking off on Wednesday, July 8 and finishing on Sunday, July 12.
Recognised with awards such as the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group’s SME Business of the Year, the business is a popular tourist attraction with distillery experiences available.
The Henley Distillery has been approached for comment.
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