Paperchase branches at risk

Popular chain Paperchase has entered administration - leaving the future of its five Kent stores and employees on the brink. Specialists from Begbies Traynor confirmed the move on Tuesday, putting 820 jobs at risk across its 106 shops in the UK and Ireland. Supermarket giant Tesco has stepped in to buy the brand, but reports suggest it is not expected to keep any of the stores, including the one in High Street, Canterbury.

Trading is expected to continue, with gift cards still being accepted for the next two weeks - but the future of its branches across the county are now uncertain.

A statement from Begbies Traynor said: “Unfortunately, despite a comprehensive sales process, no viable offers were received for the company, or its business and assets. “However, there has been significant interest in the Paperchase brand and attendant intellectual property.”

The administrators have vowed to “monitor trading” and provide updates as and when they are available.

Tesco chief Jan Marchant confirmed her company is taking over the Paperchase brand.

She said: “We’re proud to bring it to Tesco stores across the UK. “We have been building out plans to bring more brands, and this will help us to take those plans further.”

She added more information would be shared “in due course”. Paperchase bosses had put corporate restructuring business Begbies Traynor on standby in case its rescue talks collapse, two years after it filed a notice to appoint administrators in January 2021.

It was one of many retailers crashing into insolvency as trade fell during the Covid pandemic.