CLOSING DOORS
Paperchase ‘could be rescued by major supermarket’ today – see the full list of stores at risk
TESCO is in "advanced talks" to buy Paperchase following reports that the stationer could collapse into administration today.
The supermarket giant could buy Paperchase out of administration later on Tuesday, according to Sky News.
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It comes after reports Paperchase was in talks to secure a pre-pack administration deal.
This means the business could be sold to a new buyer - but may see the loss of stores and jobs.
Sources told Sky News that Tesco was not likely to buy any of the Paperchase stores, putting jobs at risk.
The Sun has contacted Tesco for comment.
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Paperchase has 134 branches, with dozens of those located in other stores such as Next.
Until a deal is done it's unclear how many, if any, stores and jobs could be at risk.
A spokesperson for Paperchase said: "The directors of Aspen Phoenix NewCo, which trades as Paperchase, confirm that following interest from a number of parties during the sale process, no decision has yet been taken on the future of the company.
"Paperchase stores and the website will continue to trade as normal during this period.
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"We can’t comment further until the process has concluded."
All stores are currently still open and its website is still up and running, and accepting orders as well as gift cards.
But the administrators are allowed to stop accepting gift cards at any point.
In 2020 when the Arcadia Group prepared to appoint administrators, shoppers were urged to spend Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge gift cards.
So if you have a Paperchase gift card, you may want to think about spending it soon.
Paperchase confirmed it was in talks with potential buyers earlier this month.
The potential sale comes only four months after the retailer was bought by retail veteran Steve Curtis, who has previously backed Jigsaw and Tie Rack.
Paperchase also previously fell into administration two years ago, with the closure of 37 stores.
At the time, the chain had 1,500 employees.
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.
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:
- Altrincham
- Arnotts
- Basingstoke
- Bath
- Battersea
- Belfast
- Berkhamsted
- Beverley
- Birmingham Grand Central
- Birmingham New St
- Birmingham Selfridges
- Bishopsgate
- Bishops Stortford
- Bluewater
- Bracknell
- Braehead
- Brighton
- Bristol
- Bromley
- Bury
- Bury St Edmunds
- Byres Road
- Cambridge
- Canterbury
- Cardiff St Davids
- Cheapside
- Chelmsford
- Cheshire Oaks
- Chester
- Chichester
- Chiswick
- Colchester
- Cribbs Causeway
- Derby
- Dundee
- Dundrum
- Durham
- Edinburgh
- Edinburgh Morningside
- Exeter
- Finchley Road
- Forestside
- Glasgow Buchanan
- Guernsey
- Guildford
- Harrogate
- Henley on Thames
- Hereford
- Hitchin
- Islington
- Jersey
- Kings Cross Station
- Kingston
- Lakeside
- Leamington Spa
- Leeds Commercial Street
- Leicester
- Lewes
- Lincoln
- London Bridge
- Maidstone
- Manchester
- Marble Arch
- Meadowhall
- Merry Hill
- Metro Centre
- Newbury
- Newcastle
- Next Aintree
- Next 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 Arndale
- Next Norwich
- Next Oxford Street
- Next Plymouth
- Next Selly Oak
- Next Shoreham
- Next Solihull
- Next Straiton
- Next Wolverhamptom
- Next York
- Northcote Road
- Nottingham
- Oxford
- Perth
- Peterborough
- Plymouth
- Putney
- Ringwood
- Rushdean Lakes
- Sailsbury
- Sevenoaks
- Sheffield
- Silverburn
- Solihull
- Southampton
- Staines
- St Albans
- St Andrews
- St Pancras Circle
- St Pancras Station
- Street Outlet
- Swindon
- Taunton
- Telford
- Trafford Centre Selfridges
- Tunbridge Wells
- Victoria Station
- Walton on Thames
- Wandsworth
- Wattington
- Waterloo Station
- Watford
- Whiteley Village
- White Rose Leeds
- Wimbledon
- Winchester
- Windsor
- Woking
- Worcester
- York
- York 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.
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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]
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