JD Sports and Debenhams are in talks over a rescue package for the department store chain that could save thousands of jobs before Christmas. Debenhams, which has 124 stores and 12,000 staff, went into administration in April for the second time in two years as it was hammered by the pandemic. However, JD Sports is understood to be interested in buying out the whole company, which has previously been the subject of a £300m price tag, and has began exclusive discussions with advisers and administrators. However, JD Sports is understood to be interested in buying out the whole company, which has previously been the subject of a £300m price tag, and has began exclusive discussions with advisers and administrators. However, JD Sports is understood to be interested in buying out the whole company, which has previously been the subject of a £300m price tag, and has began exclusive discussions with advisers and administrators. However, JD Sports is understood to be interested in buying out the whole company, which has previously been the subject of a £300m price tag, and has began exclusive discussions with advisers and administrators +3 However, JD Sports is understood to be interested in buying out the whole company, which has previously been the subject of a £300m price tag, and has began exclusive discussions with advisers and administrators Debenhams has renegotiated with landlords this year to free itself from expensive and lengthy leases that made it unattractive to a buyer, while a restructuring plan shown to prospective buyers proposes cutting the number of stores by more than half. If such a deal were to be agreed, it would be a huge boost to the retail sector, with many fearing the department store was destined to be the latest victim of the high street bloodbath sparked by coronavirus. JD Sports boss Peter Cowgill believes he would be getting a bargain by snapping up the stores and hopes to be able to revitalise Debenhams' website, which despite its decline remains one of the UK's most popular places to shop online. The sportswear giant has no interest in stocking its own brands within the department stores, however. The news will infuriate Mike Ashley, the founder of JD's rival Sports Direct, who has been trying to buy Debenhams for years. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Landlords approve rescue deal for Clarks as the 195-year-old... Some Cineworld cinemas will NEVER reopen after Covid... SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Mr Ashley, who is the majority owner of fellow high street giant Frasers Group, previously had a £150m stake in Debenhams but saw it wiped out in a debt-for-equity swap. Just weeks ago, he saw a bid, believed to be around the £125m mark, rejected as it barely marked half of the price administrators are hoping to secure. He also failed to get hold of sufficient data on how stores were performing, which Debenhams advisers are keen to avoid given Mr Ashley's involvement with rival chain, House of Fraser. An industry source told the Times that Mr Cowgill was a 'shrewd retailer', with JD Sports boasting a track record of buying struggling high street names including Footasylum and Liam Gallagher's Pretty Green brand. Debenhams had looked certain to be one of the biggest casualties of the high street bloodbath, with major UK firms revealing well over 200,000 job losses since lockdown began. JD Sports boss Peter Cowgill (pictured ) believes he would be getting a bargain by snapping up the stores and hopes to be able to revitalise Debenhams' website, which despite its decline remains one of the UK's most popular places to shop online +3 The news will infuriate Mike Ashley (pictured), the founder of JD's rival Sports Direct, who has been trying to buy Debenhams for years. +3 JD Sports boss Peter Cowgill (pictured left) believes he would be getting a bargain by snapping up the stores and hopes to be able to revitalise Debenhams' website. But the news will infuriate Mike Ashley (pictured right), the founder of JD's rival Sports Direct, who has been trying to buy Debenhams for years In the last few days alone, fashion chains Peacocks and Jaeger have fallen into administration, putting more than 4,700 jobs and almost 500 shops at risk, while landlords of shoe brand Clarks have approved a plan which will allow the struggling chain to pay no rent on many of its stores, as part of a rescue of the 195-year-old company. Boris Johnson announced yesterday that non-essential shops which have been forced to close for the last few weeks will be able to reopen when lockdown is lifted next month. The Prime Minister will set out which tiers local authorities will fall into on Thursday, but he warned that 'most' places are likely to have the higher tiers imposed on them. However, even in the highest tier, retailers can still welcome customers back, which comes as a huge boost ahead of the usual pre-Christmas rush. Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers' Association, said: 'We are delighted that shops can re-open from December 2, and are also unaffected by the new tier system. 'We are receiving more notice than we thought as we actually expected confirmation on Thursday. Retailers will be ready and we hope that the town centres and local authorities will also have prepared to accommodate shoppers. 'Many have been trying to do business online and via click and collect. December will be all about selling Christmas goods, and retailers will have to work hard and be creative to attract shoppers. 'The second lockdown has had a terrible impact on independent retail – potentially more than than the first one because it is such an important time on the retail calendar. 'Research tells us that 20% of indies did not re-open in the summer after the first lockdown so we will not see the full impact of this until January or February – but it could be the same again. He said that indies need further support to survive this challenging time. 'Cash is running out and more grants will be needed in January. We need clarity on business rates and the decision to extend the rates holiday for non-essential businesses. 'We need funds and expertise to help indie retailers to continue their transition to a stronger digital footprint. We also need to realise that shopping is safe and no need to close shops even if there is a third lockdown.' How nearly 219,000 job losses have been revealed by major UK firms since lockdown began More than 200,000 job losses have been announced by major British employers since the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March as follows: November 19 - Peacocks and Jaeger - 4,700 November 13 - Greggs - 820 November 5 - Sainsbury's and Argos - 3,500 November 4 - John Lewis - 1,500 November 4 - Lloyds - 1,070 October 29 - Pizza Express - 1,300 October 7 - Greene King - 800 October 6 - Virgin Money - 400 October 6 - Vp - 150 October 5 - Cineworld - 5,500 (many cuts likely to be temporary) September 30 - TSB - 900 September 30 - Shell - 9,000 worldwide September 29 - Ferguson - 1,200 September 22 – Wetherspoon – 400 to 450 September 22 – Whitbread – 6,000 September 18 – Investec – 210 September 15 – Waitrose – 124 September 14 – London City Airport – 239 September 9 – Lloyds Bank – 865 September 9 – Pizza Hut – 450 September 4 – Virgin Atlantic – 1,150 September 3 – Costa – 1,650 August 27 – Pret a Manger – 2,800 (includes 1,000 announced on July 6) August 26 – Gatwick Airport – 600 August 25 – Co-operative Bank – 350 August 20 – Alexander Dennis – 650 August 18 – Bombardier – 95 August 18 – Marks & Spencer – 7,000 August 14 – Yo! Sushi – 250 August 14 – River Island – 350 August 12 – NatWest – 550 August 11 – InterContinental Hotels – 650 worldwide August 11 – Debenhams – 2,500 August 7 – Evening Standard – 115 August 6 – Travelex – 1,300 August 6 – Wetherspoons – 110 to 130 August 5 – M&Co – 380 August 5 – Arsenal FC – 55 August 5 – WH Smith – 1,500 August 4 – Dixons Carphone – 800 August 4 – Pizza Express – 1,100 at risk August 3 – Hays Travel – up to 878 August 3 – DW Sports – 1,700 at risk July 31 – Byron – 651 July 30 – Pendragon – 1,800 July 29 – Waterstones – unknown number of head office roles July 28 – Selfridges – 450 July 27 – Oak Furnitureland – 163 at risk July 23 – Dyson – 600 in UK, 300 overseas July 22 – Mears – fewer than 200 July 20 – Marks & Spencer – 950 at risk July 17 – Azzurri Group (owns Zizzi and Ask Italian) – up to 1,200 July 16 – Genting – 1,642 at risk July 16 – Burberry – 150 in UK, 350 overseas July 15 – Banks Mining – 250 at risk July 15 – Buzz Bingo – 573 at risk July 14 – Vertu – 345 July 14 – DFS – up to 200 at risk July 9 – General Electric – 369 July 9 – Eurostar – unknown number July 9 – Boots – 4,000 July 9 – John Lewis – 1,300 at risk July 9 – Burger King – 1,600 at risk July 7 – Reach (owns Daily Mirror and Daily Express newspapers) – 550 July 6 – Pret a Manger – 1,000 at risk July 2 – Casual Dining Group (owns Bella Italia and Cafe Rouge) – 1,909 July 1 – SSP (owns Upper Crust) – 5,000 at risk July 1 – Arcadia (owns TopShop) – 500 July 1 – Harrods – 700 July 1 – Virgin Money – 300 June 30 – Airbus – 1,700 June 30 – TM Lewin – 600 June 30 – Smiths Group – 'some job losses' June 25 – Royal Mail – 2,000 June 24 – Jet2 – 102 June 24 – Swissport – 4,556 June 24 – Crest Nicholson – 130 June 23 – Shoe Zone – unknown number of jobs in head office June 19 – Aer Lingus – 500 June 17 – HSBC – unknown number of jobs in UK, 35,000 worldwide June 15 – Jaguar Land Rover – 1,100 June 15 – Travis Perkins – 2,500 June 12 – Le Pain Quotidien – 200 June 11 – Heathrow – at least 500 June 11 – Bombardier – 600 June 11 – Johnson Matthey – 2,500 June 11 – Centrica – 5,000 June 10 – Quiz – 93 June 10 – The Restaurant Group (owns Frankie and Benny's) – 3,000 June 10 – Monsoon Accessorise – 545 June 10 – Everest Windows – 188 June 8 – BP – 10,000 worldwide June 8 – Mulberry – 375 June 5 – Victoria's Secret – 800 at risk June 5 – Bentley – 1,000 June 4 – Aston Martin – 500 June 4 – Lookers – 1,500 May 29 – Belfast International Airport – 45 May 28 – Debenhams (in second announcement) – 'hundreds' of jobs May 28 – EasyJet – 4,500 worldwide May 26 – McLaren – 1,200 May 22 – Carluccio's – 1,000 May 21 – Clarks – 900 May 20 – Rolls-Royce – 9,000 May 20 – Bovis Homes – unknown number May 19 – Ovo Energy – 2,600 May 19 – Antler – 164 May 15 – JCB – 950 at risk May 13 – Tui – 8,000 worldwide May 12 – Carnival UK (owns P&O Cruises and Cunard) – 450 May 11 – P&O Ferries – 1,100 worldwide May 5 – Virgin Atlantic – 3,150 May 1 – Ryanair – 3,000 worldwide April 30 – Oasis Warehouse – 1,800 April 29 – WPP – unknown number April 28 – British Airways – 12,000 April 23 – Safran Seats – 400 April 23 – Meggitt – 1,800 worldwide April 21 – Cath Kidston – 900 April 17 – Debenhams – 422 March 31 – Laura Ashley – 268 March 30 – BrightHouse – 2,400 at risk March 27 – Chiquito – 1,500 at risk

  • Dave Dawe claims he had a 35-year 'blemish-free record' at company Spadeoak
  • He was kicked out over 'mum-friendly' content in a WhatsApp group, he claims
  • The firm's parent company welcomed the new MD, Victoria Smith, on LinkedIn
  • Mr Dawe wished her luck - and bemoaned how he was 'sent packing' by 'cowardly' colleagues, labelling some staff 'experienced burger flippers' 

A 'bitter' ex-managing director hijacked his replacement's public welcome with a rant about his 'back stabbing' former colleagues after he was sacked over 'offensive' WhatsApp banter. 

Dave Dawe claims he had a 35-year 'blemish-free record' at asphalt surfacing specialists Spadeoak before getting the boot over 'mum-friendly' content posted in a work WhatsApp group.

When the firm's parent company Aggregate Industries UK welcomed the new MD, Victoria Smith, on LinkedIn, Mr Dawe wished her luck - and bemoaned how he was 'sent packing' by 'cowardly' colleagues, labelling some staff 'experienced burger flippers' and 'jealous pen pushers' who 'crawled out of the sewer'.

Mr Dawe became the managing director of the ex-family business in September 2009 after 25 years of working for the company, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He started as Operations and Commercial Director in October 1985, before moving on to the Deputy Managing Director position in September 2004. 

SpadeOak was established in 1976 by the Wellington family and is now owned by manufacturer and construction materials supplier Aggregate Industries. The company has worked with notable British sports venues including the Olympic Park, Emirates Stadium and Battersea Park.

Victoria Smith, has worked with Aggregate Industries for more than 15 years, and took up her new position on November 2, also joining the senior leadership team of Aggregate Industries' Contracting Division. 

Mr Dawe said he is 'looking forward to [his] tribunal', and takes fire at the company's bonus policies and recruitment decisions.

In the back-handed welcome he wishes his replacement Victoria Smith luck by telling her to look forward to the 'integrity' of the firm who he says 'try to get rid of you when your face no longer fits'

In the back-handed welcome he wishes his replacement Victoria Smith luck by telling her to look forward to the 'integrity' of the firm who he says 'try to get rid of you when your face no longer fits'

Pictured: Aggregate Industries welcoming Spadeoak's new managing director Victoria Smith

Pictured: Aggregate Industries welcoming Spadeoak's new managing director Victoria Smith

He tells Ms Smith to look forward to the 'integrity' of the firm who he says 'try to get rid of you when your face no longer fits'.  

His rant was shared on Twitter where it went quickly viral as hundreds of social media users debated whether Dave was just 'bitter' or right to air his grievances so publicly.

Some took pity on Spadeoak and said they could 'see why they got rid of Dave now' - while other users proclaimed the former MD was their 'hero' for getting it off his chest.

Spadeoak claim to be one of the UK's leading names in asphalt surfacing, whose projects include sports stadiums, retail parks and even the Royal Household.

DAVE DAWE'S RANT  

'All the best and good luck, Victoria.

'Just look forward to the integrity, support... massive annual pay rises of anything up to one per cent, bonuses diminished by whatever excuses can be dreamt up, and most importantly the back-stabbing, cowardly* sneaky... devious methods that, in my opinion, they will use to try and get rid of you on the cheap when your face no longer fits.

'Have happy times at Spadeoak. I certainly did with a great team, whilst multiplying the bottom line by a factor of six over ten years.

'Until jealous pen pushers and experienced burger flipper managers and similarly qualified staff... crawled out of their sewers to spread their deadly seed.

'They [...] chose to get all goody goody regarding a work person WhatsApp group in which the guys were having vanilla fun in lockdown.

'Content that consisted of what most mums would laugh at, was deemed so shocking and potentially offensive that after 35 years and a blemish-free record, I was sent packing.

'I look forward to my tribunal. Enjoy!'

The businessman told reporters he's chosen to 'zip [it] for now' ahead of his tribunal and Aggregate Industries have since claimed they 'take ethics and integrity very seriously'.

Mr Dawe, from London, said in his rant: 'All the best and good luck, Victoria.

'Just look forward to the integrity, support... massive annual pay rises of anything up to one per cent, bonuses diminished by whatever excuses can be dreamt up, and most importantly the back-stabbing, cowardly* sneaky... devious methods that, in my opinion, they will use to try and get rid of you on the cheap when your face no longer fits.

'Have happy times at Spadeoak. I certainly did with a great team, whilst multiplying the bottom line by a factor of six over ten years.

'Until jealous pen pushers and experienced burger flipper managers and similarly qualified staff... crawled out of their sewers to spread their deadly seed.

'They [...] chose to get all goody goody regarding a work person WhatsApp group in which the guys were having vanilla fun in lockdown.

'Content that consisted of what most mums would laugh at, was deemed so shocking and potentially offensive that after 35 years and a blemish-free record, I was sent packing.

'I look forward to my tribunal. Enjoy!'

Aggregate Industries quickly disabled comments on the post after spotting Mr Dawe's rant - and the whole welcome has since been deleted.

The welcome message had said: 'We are pleased to announce the appointment of Victoria Smith as the new managing director for Spadeoak, our specialist contracting business.'

Mr Dawe's disgruntled post had already been shared on Twitter, where it has since gained more than 2,000 likes and comments.

David Pierrie commented: 'Is this one of those posts you're supposed to write but then delete - not send??? #SchoolBoyError.'

Pictured: Social media reaction to Dave Dawe's post about 'backstabbing' colleagues

Pictured: Social media reaction to Dave Dawe's post about 'backstabbing' colleagues

Another user called Taxman1964 joked: 'Is it a public tribunal? I'd love to attend and see Dave Dawe in action.'

Wayne Caffrey joked: 'Dave, may all your rants be of a similar vein.'

Timothy P added: 'Oh, to know what was in that WhatsApp chat.'

Michael Quinn wrote: 'Magnificent drop the mic from Dave.'

User Paul said: 'I like Dave. Dave's sarcastic and angry. Although he lost me at vanilla fun. That either sounds sinister or like a Wall's ice cream swingers club?'

Farra521 said: 'At least Dave's now got it off his chest.'

Dan Jones added: 'Go on Dave boy. Don't hold back.'

A Spadeoak representative said: 'Our company takes ethics and integrity very seriously and we pride ourselves in our approach to health and safety and mental health.

'Due to the nature of the issue we cannot further comment on the case.'

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