STAFF in Hampshire are among the 1,200 who are waiting for news after the owner of the Supercuts and Regis hair salons went into administration.

The move comes less than a year after the company lobbied landlords to cut rents at many of its 223 sites.

Deloitte has been appointed as administrators to salon owners Regis UK Limited and its holding company International Beauty Limited.

Deloitte said Regis UK will continue trading while options are being explored and no redundancies or store closures were being announced at this stage.

There are Supercuts branches at the Marlands Shopping entre in Southampton, Market Quay in Fareham and Gosport High Street.

Regis has salons in Osborne Mall, Fareham; Colebrook Street, Winchester; and Gunwharf Quays and Debenhams in Portsmouth.

Supercuts has been struggling for the last few years and went through an insolvency process known as a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) in 2018. It meant the company could cut its rents in an attempt to stay afloat.

However, the CVA was being challenged in a court action by landlords.

The CVA process has been widely used by several high street names in recent years, including Arcadia, New Look, Mothercare and Carpetright.

But it has faced criticism from some landlords who claim it is being used as a way to cut rents, instead of only being used to prevent a firm from collapsing.

Rob Harding, Deloitte joint administrator, said: “The retail trading environment in the UK remains extremely challenging and Regis UK Limited had been seeking to address this through a restructuring of its business.

“Unfortunately, these trading challenges coupled with the uncertainty caused by the legal challenge to the CVA have necessitated the need for an administration appointment. This, in order to provide protection for the business whilst restructuring and sale options, are fully considered and explored.”

Regis said at the time that a “perfect storm” of factors, including falling customer numbers and higher wages, had hurt the business. The CVA proposed rent cuts of up to 100 per cent at more than 100 of Regis’s 223 stores and concessions.

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