Tesco is poised to acquire the Paperchase brand in an unexpected foray that will cast a shadow over hundreds of high street jobs.
Sky News has learned that the UK’s largest supermarket chain is in advanced talks over buying Paperchase’s name and other intellectual property through prepackaged management that could take place as early as Tuesday.
Sources close to the situation say Tesco doesn’t appear to be interested in any of Paperchase’s stores, meaning most of its workforce could face the prospect of job loss.
It was unclear as of Tuesday morning whether any other pursuers were negotiating a deal.
Sky News revealed this week that the chain is on the verge of management when hopes of a solvent rescue deal went up in smoke.
Begbies Traynor, the professional services firm, has been lined up to handle insolvency after a sale run by PricewaterhouseCoopers in recent weeks.
Paperchase went up for sale late last year, just four months after the most recent change of ownership.
The chain was taken over in August by Steve Curtis, an experienced retail investor who was involved in Tie Rack and Jigsaw.
Retail Realisation, an industry consulting firm with which Mr. Curtis and turnaround company Rcapital are linked, was also involved in the deal last summer.
Paperchase was formerly one of many retail victims of COVID-19, having undergone prepackaged administration in January 2021.
Other notable major street chains that collapsed during the pandemic include Debenhams and Dorothy Perkins-to-TopShop empire, Arcadia Group.
It trades from around 100 stores, and Mr Curtis is thought at the time of the most recent takeover would favor an existing management plan to increase that number to around 150 in the coming years.
Permira Credit, the previous owner, has invested in Paperchase’s digital services as well as opening new stores and hiring executives since they last went insolvent.
At the time, Paperchase had almost 1,300 employees and traded from more than 125 locations across the UK.
Its stores include concessions at House of Fraser, Selfridges, and several Next stores.
Tesco and Paperchase both declined to comment.
