Carpetright is on the verge of administration with all 272 of its stores and up to 3,000 jobs in jeopardy. The prominent carpet and tiling retailer has filed a notice to appoint administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as it seeks to secure the company’s long-term future.
This development follows revelations earlier this week that Carpetright had been put up for sale. Today, the company lodged a notice of intention to enter administration at the High Court, granting Carpetright 10 days of protection while it continues to search for a last-minute buyer.
PwC had already been working with the retailer to secure more funding needed to keep trading. The decision comes after a software attack in April that disrupted trade and increased financial pressures on the company.
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Hackers targeted the company headquarters in Purfleet, Essex, sending malware to gain unauthorised access. Carpetright’s network was taken offline due to the attack but bosses insisted that the virus was isolated before any data was exposed.
Staff and hundreds of customers were affected by the malicious virus with employees unable access their payroll information. A source had told The Sun at the time: ‘Some staff networks were taken down including the portals that workers use to book time off and look at payslips.
“It happened abruptly and was worrying because customers couldn’t get through to helplines. Everything at HQ was taken offline as that was the best way to stop the attack spreading to customer data.”
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