Fears for 850 jobs as Land of Leather in administration

A TOTAL of 850 jobs across Ireland and Britain are in danger as furniture retailer Land of Leather goes into administration.

The company — which has 11 stores in the Republic, employing 84 people — announced the appointment of Deloitte as administrator, yesterday. In a recent trading update, Land of Leather said while it was debt-free and had been making “significant progress” on reducing costs and conserving cash — market conditions have remained challenging and its post-Christmas sale has been “very disappointing.” Results for its last full financial year — to the beginning of August — detailed a fall in pre-tax profits from £18.5m (€20.5m) to just £2.3m (€2.5m) and an £8m (€8,8m) slip in revenue to £232m (€257m).

A spokesperson for Deloitte said the aim was to keep the firm operating, while efforts to find a buyer continued. Trading in the company’s shares, in London, was suspended yesterday with the stock at a price of £2.25 (€2.49).