Russell & Bromley owes unsecured creditors £37.5m after collapsing into administration in January

A progress report by joint administrators Interpath reveals that Russell & Bromley ran up £37.5 million in debts to unsecured creditors before the upmarket British shoe chain went into administration in January 2026. The report spans 21 January to 20 July and cautions that the final dividend to unsecured creditors remains undetermined. HMRC is owed £2.8 million in unpaid VAT, PAYE and national insurance, with full repayment expected, alongside £134,000 in preferential employee claims.
Next picked up the Russell & Bromley brand in January, while 38 stores that remained open continued trading to run down stock before shutting on 24 April.
The wind-down stores brought in £13.1 million in post-administration sales, and administrators anticipate a final trading profit of around £4.1 million.
Sole secured creditor NatWest has no outstanding balance; its £2.1 million claim was settled by offsetting it against cash held in a Russell & Bromley account.
