Phones4U Falls into Administration After Loss of Key Contracts

Mobile phone chain Phones4U fells into administration last week after the loss of its supplier contracts with Vodafone and EE. Problems began for Phones4U in April 2012 when mobile phone giant Three pulled its business from Phone4U. This was followed by loss of the contract with O2 in January 2014. Vodafone finally pulled the plug by withdrawing its contract last week. EE promptly followed as Phones4U could no longer offer the customer choice though a single network provider.

The large network providers have decided to cut out the middleman and have brought the selling of handsets in house. Phones4U employs 6,000 staff who’s jobs are now at risk and operates 720 retail outlets which will be closed on Monday. The company has debts of £635m compared to operating earnings of £105m according to 2013 results.