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Phones 4u was a large independent mobile phone retailer in the United Kingdom. It was part of the 4u Group based in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire. Since opening in 1996, it had expanded to over 600 stores throughout the United Kingdom. On 14 September 2014, after EE, Vodafone, Orange & O2, the company's final remaining suppliers, ended their contracts, it was announced that the company was to enter administration. The company entered administration on 15 September 2014 with PricewaterhouseCoopers appointed as administrators. ==Company background== In 1987, John Caudwell and his brother Brian founded ''Midlands Mobile Phones'', to wholesale distribute mobile phones. The company became the Caudwell Group, for which the high street retail arm was named Phones 4u. On 26 September 2006, The Caudwell Group was sold for a sum of £1.47 billion to private equity firms Providence Equity Partners and Doughty Hanson & Co.〔(Caudwell Group Completes £1.5bn Sale To Private Equity Firms ), Caudwell Press Release, 26 September 2006〕 In February 2008, the group bought online retailer Dialaphone in a deal worth an estimated £9 million.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.mobiletoday.co.uk/News/5416/Dial-A-Phone_sold_for_%E2%80%98knocked-down%E2%80%99_%C2%A39m.aspx )〕 In July 2010, Phones 4u partnered with electrical chain Dixons to place 49 concessions inside a small number of Currys and PC World stores. Since then this number increased to over 100. However, following a merger between Dixons and rival phone shop, Carphone Warehouse, it was announced that this partnership would not be renewed. The group was acquired by the private equity group BC Partners in March 2011. The deal, estimated to be worth in the region of £700 million, was agreed several months after talks with a United States private equity owner were aborted. On 14 September 2014, Phones 4u was put into administration following the decision by Vodafone and EE to not renew their contracts with the company. Stores closed and both the Phones 4u and Dial-A-Phone websites were taken offline on 15 September 2014, pending a decision by the administrators.〔〔 The other mobile networks already stopped trading through Phones 4u, with Three leaving in 2012 and O2 earlier in 2014. On 19 September 2014, Vodafone reached an agreement with the administrators of Phones 4u to take over 140 Phones 4u stores, and rebrand them. It was also revealed that 628 employees at the head office in Newcastle-Under-Lyme would be laid off. On 22 September 2014, EE reached an agreement with Phones 4u's administrators to take over 58 Phones 4u stores and rebrand them while Dixons Carphone revealed that they would hire 800 people who work in Phones 4u concessions at its Currys and PC World stores. On 23 September 2014, administrators PwC announced that close to 1700 jobs would still be lost in spite of the aforementioned takeovers. On 14 October 2014, EE announced that it would acquire Life Mobile from Phones 4u's administrators. The 4u Group consisted of the following brands: * Phones 4u Limited - high-street and online retailer * Life Mobile Limited - a mobile virtual network operator, running on EE * Dial-a-Phone - online retailer * Policy Administration Services - mobile phone insurance provider * 4u Wi-Fi Limited * Jump 4u Limited * MobileServ Limited * Phosphorus Acquisition Limited * Phones 4u Group Limited * Phones 4u Finance Plc 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Phones 4u」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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