Dolcis goes into administration

Dolcis, the shoe shop chain, announced it has gone into administration after failing to secure new funding.

KPMG joint administrators Brian Green, Allan Graham and Howard Smith were appointed to the company last night. Mr Green, a restructuring partner, said that Dolcis was "a victim of the tough trading conditions" in the retail sector.

"While most businesses wait and see whether the recent dent to consumer confidence has a longer-term impact on the wider econ-omy, the retail sector and its suppliers operate at the sharp end, feeling the impact of tighter consumer spending with more immediacy and arguably acting as an indicator of trouble ahead for other sectors," he said.

As The Independent rep-orted last week, Dolcis, which normally processes its payroll at the end of each month, paid its employees up to 19 January, before yesterday's announcement, suggesting administration was imminent. The com-pany ran into trouble after the departure of its backer EPIC, the private equity company, which sold its stake to management around the new year.

The Dolcis boss John Kinnaird, well known for his partnership with the Scottish entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter, said at the time that he was "99.9 per cent" confident of finding a new partner. So far, however, Mr Kinnaird has not been able to unveil a new source of funding.