The once iconic brand has ceased trading09:56, 04 Jun 2026A long-established Nottingham business with a storied past has gone into liquidation and laid off staff after shutting down operations. Lingerie firm Gossard, which was established in 1901 and during the 1960s brought the Wonderbra to the UK, entered liquidation on May 14.‌Liquidators from CFS Restructuring will now dispose of the assets of Gossard Limited before shutting down the company for good, which had been operating from The Courtaulds Building on Haydn Road in Sherwood.‌"Please be advised that Gossard Limited has officially ceased trading and entered liquidation effective May 14, 2026," a statement on its website reads.‌"This appointment relates solely to the UK entity trading as Gossard. Gossard's European operations and affiliated entities outside the UK are continuing to operate as normal and are not subject to these liquidation proceedings. We would like to thank our customers, partners, and employees for their support over the years."Gossard had positioned itself as a heritage lingerie brand offering a variety of products from bralets to plunge bras.It had been significantly in debt to HMRC and suppliers when it went into liquidation, according to documents submitted to Companies House by its liquidators.‌While it had approximately £642,993 worth of stock, this was only expected to generate around £17,400 during the liquidators' sale.This fell far short of what was needed to pay 25 suppliers who had lodged claims totalling £2,482,763, and a £346,191 claim from HMRC. Companies House records revealed that three former members of staff also lodged claims totalling £77,910.The statement of affairs produced by liquidators of the insolvent city firm — previously owned by a Hong Kong-based parent company — indicated an overall shortfall of £2,813,604 when attempting to repay creditors.‌Sister company Embody (Brands) Limited, a hosiery retailer based in the same Sherwood building, also went into liquidation on May 14, leaving suppliers and employees owed hundreds of thousands of pounds.Liquidators confirmed the business held £947,257 worth of stock, though this was only anticipated to fetch £35,300 upon sale.Embody was expected to have roughly £230,000 worth of assets available, yet this fell well short of covering an HMRC claim of £252,583, trader claims of £634,058, and claims from 15 members of staff totalling £358,565.‌CFS Restructuring noted in its statement of affairs that Embody's creditors faced a predicted shortfall of £1,025,117.Pretty Polly Limited, another connected firm based at The Courtaulds Building, has also entered liquidation."Please be advised that Pretty Polly has officially ceased trading and entered liquidation effective May 14, 2026," read a notice posted on its website. We would like to thank our customers, partners, and employees for their support over the years."Article continues belowThe Mirror has contacted Gossard for comment