300 jobs lost as East poised to stop trading next week

Fashion retailer East is to stop trading next week after administrators were unable to find a buyer, with 300 employees to be made redundant.

According to reports, East will cease trading on 4 May after administrators at FRP Advisory were unable to find a buyer despite receiving at least three approaches.

Creditors of the company, which operates around 49 stores, are owed around £10.1m.

The news follows the redundancies of 27 staff after the company fell into administration in January, and a further administration back in 2015 when East closed 19 stores and entered pre-pack administration.

The new company which took its place, called East Lifestyle, was loss-making from its inception, according to a creditors report filed with Companies House.

However FRP Advisory is still hopeful of finding a last minute buyer, and a spokeswoman said: “Discussions are still ongoing and we continue to explore avenues for a sale to secure the best possible outcome for all parties.”