The store’s owners describe it as being a ‘very tough decision’
Popular high street accessories store Claire’s will enter administration once again, as will The Original Factory Shop, after what owners insist is ‘the only option’.
More than 1,000 jobs are thought to be at risk as insolvency firm Kroll is appointed to handle the business’s collapse. The chain operates out of around 150 stores across the UK, all of which now face an uncertain future with insolvency firm Kroll being appointed to handle the collapse.
Claire’s had lodged a notice of intention to appoint administrators in the days following Christmas. Kroll has since been formally installed to oversee the restructuring of Claire’s UK and Irish operations, reports The Express.
Modella Capital, which also owns The Original Factory Shop, confirmed earlier this month that both businesses were being placed into administration after efforts to stabilise them failed.
Emergency rescue deals were struck last year, but funding is believed to have dried up, with insiders pointing to a tangle of inherited financial and operational problems. A spokesperson said the group had been left with no viable alternative.
“Very sadly, we have had to initiate insolvency proceedings for The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) and Claire’s Accessories UK & Ireland,” the spokesperson confirmed on Monday (January 26).
“This has been a very tough decision. We have worked intensively in an effort to save both businesses, having made last-ditch attempts to rescue them, but neither has a realistic possibility of trading profitably again.
“In these circumstances, administration is the only option. In both cases, the legacy effects of trading prior to our ownership left them highly vulnerable.”
