DEBENHAMS has played down fears that its Northern Ireland stores could follow the fate of its business in the Republic by entering liquidation.
The company stressed over the weekend that its decision to appoint a potential liquidator was a necessary part of the administration process.
It came just days after the retailer announced plans to cut 2,500 roles across the UK, on top of the 4,000 it announced in May.
The troubled department store chain, which has five outlets in Northern Ireland, has been in administration since April.
Its thought to employ between 600-700 people in Northern Ireland.
Sky News first reported the appointment of Hilco Capital over the weekend. The company, which specializes in the winding down of distressed businesses, has previously worked with Debenhams to sell off some of its underperforming stores.
However, the department chain said over the weekend that it was “trading strongly” since reopening 124 stores after the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in June.
"As a result, and as previously stated, the administrators of Debenhams Retail Ltd have initiated a process to assess ways for the business to exit its protective administration” said a spokesperson.
"The administrators have appointed advisers to help them assess the full range of possible outcomes which include the current owners retaining the business, potential new joint venture arrangements (with existing and potential new investors), or a sale to a third party."
Investment bank Lazards has been exploring a sale of the business since July.
Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, Next and a Chinese consortium are thought to be among the parties interested, with some reports suggesting that the sale process could trigger a break-up of the chain.
But if the sale process fails, the company could turn to Hilco to liquidate the business, putting up to 14,000 jobs at risk, including several hundreds jobs in the north of Ireland.
It could see Debenhams stores in Belfast, Derry, Newry, Craigavon and Ballymena mirror the fate of the chain’s operation across the border.
Debenhams announced the plans to liquidate its operation in the Republic in April. The retailer had employed 1,400 people across 11 stores.
Some of those employees arrived in Belfast in June as part of a campaign to win redundancy pay for more than 1,000 employees.
The ex-staff gathered at Debenhams’ Royal Avenue outlet to demand contractual redundancy rights for workers after the closure of the 11 stores across the Republic.
