Ted Baker head office jobs hang in the balance as Frasers deal looms

It is understood that if a Frasers Group takeover gets the green light, the staff at Ted Baker’s head office in London will not be included in the deal, Drapers has reported.

According to reports, there are fewer than 100 employees left after three rounds of redundancies at the fashion retailer.

Restructuring company Hilco is also said to have been drafted in by Ted Baker’s administrator Teneo to “help clear stock”.

In an email seen by Drapers, the administrator said: “We understand the adjustment to headcount may leave many feeling increasingly uncertain.

“Based on our current forecast, we still anticipate that we will be trading under the current strategy to mid-August and that the team that will be in place after May 31 across head office and retail will deliver this strategy.

“As trading progresses, the timeline of mid-August will become clearer, and we will do our best to provide as many updates as possible to everyone.”

Teneo declined to comment.

The news comes after it was reported last month that Frasers was the frontrunner to take over Ted Baker’s British operations after it collapsed into administration.

No Ordinary Designer Label, which trades under the Ted Baker brand, first filed a notice of intention to appoint Teneo to lead the process of its UK operations in March.

It was confirmed last month that 15 Ted Baker stores would close their doors across the UK, resulting in 245 job losses at the fashion brand.

Teneo said at the time that all closing stores were loss-making and “deemed to have no prospect of being able to return to profitability even with material rent reductions”.