An historic Scottish department store with shops across the country is to close, with 130 staff facing redundancy.
Family-run McEwens of Perth, which opened almost 150 years ago, has two outlets in the city as well as premises in Oban, Argyll and Bute, and Ballater, Aberdeenshire.
Owners John and Georgina Bullough said: “It is with great sadness and regret that we have had to put McEwens of Perth into administration today.
“Despite our exhaustive search for investor and partner solutions, all negotiations with the bank have failed and unfortunately we have run out of options.
“Our thoughts are with all 130 wonderful McEwens staff who face redundancy. We are grateful to them for their hard work and all our friends and colleagues for their advice and support.”
Finance Secretary John Swinney said the news was “worrying”.
He tweeted: “Very sorry to hear that @McEwensOfPerth has gone into administration. Worrying time for staff and I will do all I can to find a solution.”
McEwens first opened in Perth in 1868 and the original shop still stands on the same site.
After the Bulloughs’ bought the business in 1982, they expanded, opening a shop in Inverness in 2000 and expanding and relocating their Ballater store in 2007 – which was formally opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Rothesay.
The Inverness store closed in 2013 in a bid to “preserve the profitability of other branches”.
