Cotswold Outdoor shops are a familiar sight on Britain's High Streets. Photo: Bob Smith/grough

Cotswold Outdoor shops are a familiar sight on Britain's High Streets. Photo: Bob Smith/grough

Creditors of the troubled owners of retailer Cotswold Outdoor have approved a company voluntary arrangement.

Outdoor & Cycle Concepts, parent company of Cotswold, Snow+Rock, Runners Need and Cycle Surgery, will now seek rent reductions at some of its stores.

The firm also plans to close two Cotswold Outdoor shops in Peterborough and Ipswich, the Bridgend branch of Snow+Rock and Cycle Surgery in Highbury.

It said it plans to keep job losses to a minimum and staff being made redundant will be able to apply for alternative posts within the group.

Outdoor & Cycle Concepts, which is based in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, operates 120 stores and will seek lower rents from its landlords in 50 of them, following backing by 97 per cent of unsecured creditors for its plan.

Chief executive Greg Nieuwenhuys resigned last month and Jose Ramon Finch joined the board on 1 April as managing director. Mr Finch said: “This positive outcome is an important step in our transformation programme to build a stronger future.

“We will now work hard to activate our proposal ensuring that store closures and job losses are kept to a minimum while continuing to offer our customers unparalleled expert service and the very best products from quality brands.”

O&CC is owned by Retail Concepts NV, a Belgium-based company registered in the Netherlands. It in turn is owned by Dutch outfit AS Adventure Coöpertief UA, which is an asset of French private-equity group PAI Partners.

Cotswold Outdoor began trading in 1974, selling camping equipment. According to the latest published figures, Outdoor & Cycle Concepts employs just over 2,000 people.