Mothercare stores in Ireland are not affected by UK stores going into administration

The Mothercare stores in Cork and Ireland are not affected by the decision of Mothercare UK to place their company into administration.

The owners of Ireland's 14 Mothercare stores said they are a separately owned company and will continue to trade as normal.

In the UK, the children's retailer, which has 79 stores, said it will file a notice of intent to appoint administrators for the UK business later on Monday.

Mothercare UK slumped to a £36.9 million loss in the financial year to March, as it has struggled amid a period of turmoil for high street retailers.

The retailer, which has around 500 full-time staff and 2,000 part-time employees, is set to follow the likes of Bonmarche, Jack Wills and Karen Millen, which have gone bust in recent months.

However, Mothercare Ireland is a separately owned and family run business that has been operating in Ireland for 26 years. 

The business was started by David Ward in 1992 and is now run by his two sons Jonathan and Ben and daughter Laura.

Commenting on the UK announcement Jonathan Ward, Managing Director of Mothercare Ireland said: "Regards Mothercare UK’s news this morning, Mothercare Ireland is a completely separate company and as a result our 14 Irish stores are unaffected by the administration plans and will continue to trade as normal."

The parent group, Mothercare Global - which has more than 1,000 stores in more than 40 overseas territories - is not affected by the administration. Mothercare Group reported a profit of £38.3m internationally in the financial year to the end of March.

Mothercare Ireland is one of the original partners of Mothercare Global and is currently the fifth-largest partner in the world.