A POPULAR high street chain has been “saved” by Tesco but 106 stores are still at risk of closing.
The supermarket giant has confirmed that it has bought the Paperchase brand after it collapsed into administration.
GettyTesco has confirmed plans to buy the Paperchase brand[/caption]
However, Tesco’s deal does not include any of the retailer’s 106 stores.
The supermarket has only purchased the intellectual property and Paperchase brand name.
In the meantime, all stores will remain open and trading as normal.
But it is unclear how many 820 jobs will be lost as part of the move.
Jan Marchant, managing director of home and clothing at Tesco said: “Paperchase is a well-loved brand by so many, and we’re proud to bring it to Tesco stores across the UK.
“We have been building out plans to bring more brands and inspiration to the ranges we currently offer, and this will help us to take those plans further.
“We look forward to sharing more with our customers in due course.”
The joint administrators said: “This sale reflects the interest in the well-known and established brand and will enable the brand to continue in Tesco stores across the UK.”
It comes after reports Paperchase was in talks to secure a pre-pack administration deal.
All stores are currently still open as normal, the administrators confirmed.
Any shoppers with gift cards are being urged to redeem them as soon as possible as they won’t be accepted after two weeks.
A “pre-pack administration” is an insolvency process for a business to sell its assets before appointing administrations.
It’s a way of selling on a business to a third part of buyer.
Paperchase has 134 branches, including standalone stores and others located in shops such as Next and Selfridges.
It also previously fell into administration two years ago, with the closure of 37 stores.
This is when all control is passed to an appointed administrator who has to be a licensed insolvency practitioner.
They will try to stop the company being liquidated.
At the time, the chain had 1,500 employees.
Paperchase confirmed it was in talks with potential buyers earlier this month.
More brands collapsed last year after losing the same battle plenty of retailers had been fighting amid the Covid pandemic.
From the Scottish clothing brand M&Co to wellies store Joules, a number of familiar brands went bust in 2022.
Here, The Sun has put together a full list of retailers that closed last year.
Major burger chain Byron Burger also recently fell into administration and is set to close nine restaurants immediately.
Further popular chains including Las Iguanas, Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia also fell victim to the pandemic.
In December 2022, pub chain Wetherspoons announced it would be closing a total of 39 pubs after being hit by soaring inflation.
You can see the full list of Paperchase stores below:
AltrinchamArnottsBasingstokeBathBatterseaBelfastBerkhamstedBeverleyBirmingham Grand CentralBirmingham New StBirmingham SelfridgesBishopsgateBishops StortfordBluewaterBracknellBraeheadBrighton Bristol Bromley Bury Bury St EdmundsByres RoadCambridge Canterbury Cardiff St DavidsCheapsideChelmsford Cheshire OaksChesterChichester Chiswick ColchesterCribbs CausewayDerby DundeeDundrum Durham Edinburgh Edinburgh MorningsideExeterFinchley RoadForestsideGlasgow BuchananGuernseyGuildfordHarrogateHenley on ThamesHerefordHitchinIslingtonJerseyKings Cross Station Kingston LakesideLeamington SpaLeeds Commercial StreetLeicester LewesLincoln London BridgeMaidstone ManchesterMarble ArchMeadowhall Merry Hill Metro CentreNewbury NewcastleNext AintreeNext Birmingham Junction 9 Next Bolton Next Bournemouth Next Camberley Next Crawley Next Enfield Next Gloucester Next Handforth Dean Next Hanley Next Ipswich Next Kirkcaldy Next London Colney Next Luton Next Maidstone Next Manchester ArndaleNext Norwich Next Oxford StreetNext PlymouthNext Selly OakNext Shoreham Next Solihull Next Straiton Next Wolverhamptom Next York Northcote RoadNottingham OxfordPerthPeterborough Plymouth Putney RingwoodRushdean LakesSailsbury Sevenoaks Sheffield Silverburn Solihull Southampton StainesSt Albans St Andrews St Pancras CircleSt Pancras Station Street OutletSwindon Taunton TelfordTrafford Centre SelfridgesTunbridge WellsVictoria Station Walton on ThamesWandsworthWattington Waterloo Station WatfordWhiteley VillageWhite Rose LeedsWimbledon WinchesterWindsorWokingWorcesterYorkYork Outlet
What does going into administration mean?
When a company enters administration, all control is passed to an appointed administrator – who has to be a licensed insolvency practitioner.
Their goal is to leverage the company’s assets and business to repay creditors.
Once the administrator has taken over, a moratorium is placed around the company and stops all legal actions.
After the administrator takes over, there isn’t much that can be done to reverse the process.
How does administration work?
The administrator will write to your creditors and Companies House to say they’ve been appointed.
They will try to stop the company being liquidated but if they can’t, the administrator will pay as much of a company’s debts as possible from the assets.
The administrator has eight weeks to write a statement explaining what they plan to do.
This must be sent to creditors, employees and Companies House and invites them to approve or amend the plans at a meeting.
Gift cards – your rights explained
When a company goes into administration, the people appointed to manage the process can decide whether to allow the use of gift cards or not.
It means you’ll need to keep an eye on the administration process to see what your rights are.
The administrators are allowed to stop accepting gift cards at any point.
If the administrators later decide that you can’t use your vouchers, you should register a claim with the administrators for the value of the vouchers.
This also applies if the company can’t be saved through administration and is later liquidated.
However, you may not get this money back if other creditors are owed money too. You may also only get a portion of the money back.
If the voucher or amount put on a gift card was for more than £100, then it may be possible to claim the money back if it was purchased with a credit card.
This is because the card company is jointly liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
If the voucher was a gift, then you’d need to ask the person who bought it for you to claim the money back.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]