A major retail chain collapses into administration, putting 106 stores at risk of disappearing from the high street

PAPERCHASE collapsed into administration today, putting more than a hundred stores and jobs at risk.

The stationer initially shared that despite “best efforts” it hadn’t received any viable offers from buyers.

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The 106 branches and around 820 employees are threatened with closure.

Administrators confirmed this afternoon that 75 employees have been made redundant at the company’s London headquarters.

It came after reports that Paperchase was in talks to finalize a pre-pack administration deal.

All shops are still open normally, the administrators confirmed.

All buyers with gift cards are urged to redeem them as soon as possible as they will not be accepted after two weeks.

After Paperchase went into administration, Tesco confirmed it had bought the brand – but that doesn’t necessarily mean the stores will be saved from closure.

A statement from the joint administrators said: “Unfortunately, despite an extensive sale process, no viable offers have been received for the Company or its business and assets on a going concern basis.

“However, there has been significant interest in the Paperchase brand and associated intellectual property.

“This sale reflects interest in the well known and established brand and will allow the brand to continue in Tesco stores across the UK.”

A “pre-pack administration” is a bankruptcy procedure for a company to sell its assets before administrations are appointed.

It is a way of selling a business to a third party buyer.

Paperchase has 134 stores, including standalone stores and others in stores like Next and Selfridges.

Two years ago, it also fell into administration with the closure of 37 branches.

This is the case when all control is given to an appointed liquidator, who must be an authorized insolvency practitioner.

They will try to prevent the company from going into liquidation.

At that time the chain had 1,500 employees.

Paperchase confirmed discussions with potential buyers earlier this month.

The brick-and-mortar store first hit the high street in 1968 and soon expanded its presence to Europe, the US and the United Arab Emirates.

Paperchase also operates smaller concessions in select Selfridges, House of Fraser and Next department stores.

The chain’s first store was in Kensington, and in 2010 the brand launched its online store.

More brands collapsed last year after losing the same battle many retailers fought amid the Covid pandemic.

From Scottish clothing brand M&Co to wellington boot shop Joules, a number of well-known brands went bust in 2022.

Here, The Sun has compiled a full list of the retailers that closed last year.

The large burger chain Byron Burger also recently went under management and will close nine restaurants immediately.

Other popular chains such as Las Iguanas, Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia also fell victim to the pandemic.

In December 2022, pub chain Wetherspoons announced it would close a total of 39 pubs after being hit by rising inflation.

Below is the full list of Paperchase stores:

• Altrincham
• Arnots
• Basingstoke
• bath
• Battersee
• Belfast
• Berkhamstedt
• Beverly
• Birmingham Grand Central
• Birmingham New St
• Birmingham Selfridges
• Bishopsgate
• Bishops Stortford
• Blue Water
• Bracknell
• Braehead
• Brighton
• Bristol
• Bromley
• To bury
• Bury St Edmunds
• Byres Street
• Cambridge
• Canterbury
• Cardiff St Davids
• cheap site
• Chelmsford
• Cheshire Oaks
• Chester
• Chichester
• Chiswick
• colchester
• Cribbs Dam
• derbies
• Dundee
• dundrum
• durham
• Edinburgh
• Edinburgh Morningside
• exeter
• Finchley Street
• forest side
• Glasgow Buchanan
• guernsey
• Guildford
• Harrogate
• Henley on the Thames
• Herford
• hitchin
• islington
• jersey
• King’s Cross railway station
• kingston
• lakeside
• Leamington Spa
• Trade route Leeds
• leicester
• Lewes
• Lincoln
• London Bridge
• Maidstone
• Manchester
• marble arch
• meadow hall
• Happy Hill
• subway center
• 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 to London Colney
• Next Luton
• Next Maidstone
• Next Manchester Arndale
• Next Norwich
• Next Oxford Street
• Next Plymouth
• Next Selly Oak
• Nearest Shoreham
• Next Solihull
• Next street
• Next Wolverhamptom
• Next York
• Northcote Street
• nottingham
• Oxford
• perth
• Peterborough
• Plymouth
• Putney
• ring forest
• Rushdean Lakes
• Sailsbury
• seven oaks
• Sheffield
• silver brandy
• Solihull
• southampton
• stains
• St Albans
• st andrews
• St. Pancras Circle
• St Pancras railway station
• street vending
• swindon
• Taunton
• Telford
• Trafford Center Selfridges
• Tunbridge Wells
• Victoria station
• Walton on the Thames
• Wandsworth
• Wattton
• Waterloo station
• Watford
• Whiteley Village
• White Rose Leeds
• Wimbledon
• Winchester
• windsor
• Wake up
• Worcester
• York
• York Outlet

What does it mean to go into administration?

When a company enters into receivership, all control passes to an appointed receiver, who must be a licensed receiver.

Their goal is to use the company’s assets and business to repay the creditors.

Once the administrator has taken over, a moratorium will be imposed on the company and all legal action will cease.

After the admin has taken over, there isn’t much that can be done to reverse the process.

How does the administration work?

The Administrator will give written notice to your creditors and to Companies House that they have been appointed.

They will try to prevent the liquidation of the company, but if they cannot do so, the administrator will pay off as much of a company’s debts as possible from the assets.

The manager has eight weeks to write a statement explaining what he intends to do.

This must be sent to creditors, staff and Companies House, inviting them to approve or change the plans in a meeting.

Gift vouchers – Your rights explained

When a business goes into administration, those tasked with managing the process can decide whether or not to allow the use of gift cards.

This means you need to keep an eye on the management process to see what rights you have.

Administrators can stop accepting gift cards at any time.

If the admins later decide that you cannot use your coupons, you should file a claim with the admins for the value of the coupons.

This also applies if the company cannot be saved through administration and is later liquidated.

However, you may not get that money back if money is also owed to other creditors. You may also only get part of the money back.

If the voucher or amount on a gift card was more than £100, it may be possible to reclaim the money if purchased with a credit card.

This is because the card company is jointly and severally liable under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

If the voucher was a gift, you must ask the person who bought it for you to claim the money back.

Do you have a money problem that needs clarification? Email money-sm@news.co.uk