A division of failed shopfitting giant Mice Group, which collapsed in the summer, has been bought out by its management, with backing from the Royal Bank of Scotland, for £4.3 million.

A company called ID ESS (Retail) will be formed and the buy-out safeguards 46 jobs. The deal was completed in two weeks.

ID ESS will provide a range of services to retailers, including shopfitting and interior design. Its clients will include John Lewis, Tesco, Monsoon and Marks & Spencer. Based in Harlow, its projected annual sales will be about£25 million, which should be sufficient for it to merit inclusion in Retail Week’s top 50 shopfitting league when it is next published in September 2008.

The news came as industry research house Plimsoll published a report stating that about one in five of the UK’s shopfitters are making a loss. Despite this, most of the sector’s larger operators claim to have well-filled forward-order books.

Mice Group was the second-biggest company in Retail Week’s shopfitting survey last year. Poor financial management was blamed for its demise.

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