Gossard, the 1901 lingerie house that brought Wonderbra to the UK, went into liquidation

Gossard is one of the older names in British lingerie: established in 1901 and based in Nottingham, it is remembered above all for bringing the Wonderbra to the UK in the 1960s. It operated from the Courtaulds Building on Haydn Road in Sherwood, Nottingham, carrying a name that had survived well over a century.

On 14 May 2026 Gossard Limited entered creditors' voluntary liquidation — not administration — with insolvency practitioners from CFS Restructuring LLP appointed as liquidators and UK trading ceasing. All of the company's UK staff were laid off after the decision to shut down operations, and the remaining stock was disposed of by the liquidators.

The scale of the shortfall is laid out in the creditors' report: an overall shortfall of £2,813,604, owed to 25 suppliers (£2,482,763), HMRC (£346,191) and three former members of staff (£77,910). The appointment related solely to the UK entity; Gossard's European operations and affiliated entities outside the UK continue to operate as normal and are not subject to the proceedings.

Two sister companies in the same Nottingham building went the same way the same day: Embody (Brands) Limited and Pretty Polly Limited also entered liquidation on 14 May. A 125-year-old brand, a household name in British underwear, was wound up in a single decision while the rest of the group carried on.