MORE than 50 jobs have been saved with the sale of East Anglian-based footwear retailer Mr Shoes Ltd.

MORE than 50 jobs have been saved with the sale of East Anglian-based footwear retailer Mr Shoes Ltd.

The company was placed into administration on June 22, with David Whitehead and Bob Rose from chartered accountants Larking Gowen being appointed joint administrators.

It has now been bought by Glayone Ltd, which has been formed by the previous directors of Mr Shoes Ltd.

Mr Whitehead said: “We are delighted with the completion of this sale which will preserve 53 jobs at its head office and warehouse function in Dereham and in the nine stores that will continue trading.

“It is of course unfortunate that some of the stores have had to close with job losses but the company was a victim of the recession that is affecting many UK retailers.”

Mr Shoes' stores will continue to trade in: Norwich (Red Lion Street and St Stephens), Bury St Edmunds, Peterborough, Kingston, Wimbledon, Oxford, Bristol, and Leamington Spa.

The administrators were originally optimistic of keeping open as many as 14 or the company's original total of 24 stores and the final total of 15 closures is thought to have involved more than 70 job losses.

Mr Shoes was founded in 1978 by former Olympic distance runner and boss of Nike UK Mike Tagg and the business has grown to an annual turnover of �7million.

Last year the firm acquired four stores from another group and also bought a new warehouse to act as a distribution centre.

However, Mr Shoes declared a �275,048 loss before tax for the 53 weeks to March 2008, against a �146,700 profit the year before.

The company's accounts said the results had been “adversely affected by a worsening of general economic conditions” but added that costs were being reduced in an attempt to counteract falls in sales and margins.

Creditors of Mr Shoes Ltd should provide written details of their claim to Larking Gowen, King Street House, 15 Upper King Street, Norwich NR3 1RB, or call 0845 450 2466.