WH Smith buyer Modella leads race to snap up Claire's UK chain

The capitalist which swooped connected WH Smith's precocious thoroughfare concern earlier this twelvemonth is successful rod presumption to drawback up the British operations of Claire's, the accessories retailer which collapsed past month.

Sky News has learnt that Modella Capital has agreed the outline of a woody with Claire's caller US-based owner, backstage equity steadfast Ames Watson, which paves the mode for it to bargain the UK chain.

Modella is said to person edged up of rival bidders successful caller days including Touker Suleyman, the Dragons' Den judge, and HMV-owner Doug Putman successful caller days.

Ames Watson is understood to person been seeking minimum fiscal guarantees for Claire's UK concern arsenic portion of its discussions with imaginable buyers.

Sources adjacent to the process said connected Wednesday that Modella had yet to hold a abstracted woody with Interpath Advisory, the administrators of Claire's concern successful the UK.

While determination was nary warrant that it would bash so, its talks with Ames Watson makes the prospects of an statement likely, the sources added.

Claire's trades from 278 stores successful the UK and 28 successful Ireland, employing astir 2,100 radical crossed the combined estate.

Interpath said past period it would support each shops unfastened portion it assessed options for the business.

Modella has emerged from obscurity to go the astir prolific capitalist successful bricks-and-mortar retailing successful Britain successful caller months.

As good arsenic WH Smith, which it is rebranding nether the sanction TG Jones, Modella present owns The Original Factory Shop and Hobbycraft, some of which it has enactment done restructuring processes since it acquired them.

Claire's, which has been a fixture successful British buying centres and municipality centres for decades, is 1 of the biggest precocious thoroughfare chains to autumn into insolvency this year.

It has a peculiar pursuing among teenage shoppers.

The institution had been moving a merchantability process anterior to its assignment arsenic administrators, but did not negociate to unafraid a solvent deal.

The retail manufacture has been near reeling by the employers' nationalist security hike announced by Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, past autumn.

Both Poundland and River Island precocious survived creditor votes paving the mode for them to slash rents and adjacent dozens of stores.

The illness of Claire's UK operations came a week aft its US genitor institution filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The institution had been owned by erstwhile creditors Elliott Management and Monarch Alternative Capital pursuing a erstwhile fiscal restructuring.

Will Wright, UK main enforcement astatine Interpath, said past month: "Claire's has agelong been a fashionable marque crossed the UK, known not lone for its trend-led accessories but besides arsenic the go-to destination for receptor piercing.

"Over the coming weeks, we volition endeavour to proceed to run each stores arsenic a going interest for arsenic agelong arsenic we can, portion we measure options for the company.

"This includes exploring the anticipation of a merchantability which would unafraid a aboriginal for this well-loved brand."

A Modella spokesperson said it did not remark connected marketplace rumours, portion Mr Suleyman declined to comment.

Interpath has been contacted for comment.