Struggling stationery retailer Paperchase is facing an uncertain future after it emerged that the owners were considering a sale or administration less than six months after a previous buyout.
The retailer is said to have lined up the corporate restructuring firm Begbies Traynor as the administrator if talks to save the company fall through. There are currently 101 Paperchase stores in the UK and Ireland which employ around 800, including branches in Newcastle, Metrocentre and Durham. It is not known how many stores and jobs could be put at risk by another administration process.
Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions took Paperchase to the brink of collapse in January 2021, as sales fell due to reduced footfall. The accountancy firm PwC was appointed as the administrator and secured a rescue deal. The so-called 'pre-pack' administration deal meant the stationary firm could save around 1,000 jobs when the newly formed company Aspen Phoenix Newco took control of the firm.
