Vodafone & EE approached to buy Phones4u stores

Phones 4U logo

Several phone networks have expressed an interest in purchasing the Phones 4u shops and handset stocks, after the company fell into administration earlier this week.

As reported by IT Pro, following Vodafone and EE's decision not to renew their resale contracts with the retailer, the fate of the company's 5,596 employees and 550 stores across the UK was thrown into question.

It has been reported by The Guardian that layoffs will begin from tomorrow, 18 September.

In a phone call with bondholders, the Financial Times (via The Guardian) reports, it was revealed that Vodafone and EE may be considering a move to buy some of the stores, despite their decision to stop selling through the company widely being blamed for its downturn.

A spokesperson for Vodafone told the FT: "We can confirm that we have been approached by the administrators of the Phones 4u business. We will not be commentating on the detail of those discussions."

This comes after the news that Dixons Carphone is hoping to offer jobs to a number of Phones 4u staff.

The company's website has been taken offline in the wake of these developments, and the next step for Phones 4u as a company, their stores across the country and their 5,000+ staff is reportedly being discussed.

In the statement from chief executive David Kassler released over the weekend said: "Today is a very sad day for our customers and our staff. If the mobile network operators decline to supply us, we do not have a business. A good company making profits of over 100 million, employing thousands of decent people has been forced into administration."

Caroline Preece

Caroline has been writing about technology for more than a decade, switching between consumer smart home news and reviews and in-depth B2B industry coverage. In addition to her work for IT Pro and Cloud Pro, she has contributed to a number of titles including Expert Reviews, TechRadar, The Week and many more. She is currently the smart home editor across Future Publishing's homes titles.

You can get in touch with Caroline via email at caroline.preece@futurenet.com.