A POPULAR retailer could disappear from the high street within weeks, The Sun understands.
Yesterday, stationery chain Paperchase collapsed into administration leaving the future of 106 stores and 1,000 jobs at risk.
Supermarket giant Tesco immediately bought the rights to the Paperchase brand, meaning its products could be sold within stores.
Administrators have been searching for a buyer to strike a deal to save the 106 branches, which currently remain open and operating as usual, and over thousands of jobs.
However, no buyers have come forward to secure a deal, meaning that the rest of the business is set to be liquidated, sources told The Sun.
It means the 106 branches currently operating across the UK and Ireland could close within two months.
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Paperchase goes bust putting 106 stores at risk of closing forever
Administrators confirmed 75 staff at Paperchase's head office in London had already been made redundant.
The failure of the business puts 1,000 jobs at risk.
Yesterday, administrators said: "Unfortunately, despite a comprehensive sales process, no viable offers were 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 attendant intellectual property.
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"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 came after reports Paperchase was in talks to try and secure a pre-pack administration deal.
A "pre-pack administration" deal is an insolvency process for a business to sell its assets before appointing administrators.
Shoppers with gift cards are being urged to redeem them as soon as possible as they won't be accepted after two weeks.
Paperchase fell into administration two years ago, which led to the closure of 37 stores – at the time the chain had 1,500 staff.
The company opened its first store in 1968 in Kensington, London.
In 2010, it launched its website and its first standalone store in Ireland in Dundrum, Dublin, in 2020.
What does going into administration mean?
During the administration process, all control is passed to an appointed administrator.
They have to leverage a company's assets and business to repay creditors.
Once the administrator has taken over, what's known as 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 writes to creditors and Companies House to say they’ve been appointed.
They will try to stop the company from being liquidated but if they can't, the administrator will pay as much of a company's debts as possible from the assets.
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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.
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