Retail

CW Sellors, a Derbyshire-based jewellery retailer, has entered administration, with Lee Causer and Ben Peterson of BDO appointed as joint administrators. The appointments followed the filing of a notice of intention to appoint administrators via Browne Jacobson. A connected entity, Cessbrook Investments, has also entered administration. The business, founded in 1979, operates retail outlets in Ashbourne, Bakewell, Matlock, Shrewsbury, York and Whitby. As part of the administration strategy, the Whitby operations will be consolidated into a single store, W Hamond, with four stores closing. All other locations continue to trade. Online orders are not currently being accepted, and the administrators are seeking a purchaser for the business. The company experienced cash-flow pressure following investment in new manufacturing and training facilities, alongside rising overheads and reduced demand during the cost-of-living crisis. Thirty-six employees have been made redundant, with approximately 50 retained to support ongoing trading during the sale process. Lee Causer, Joint Administrator at BDO, said:“The business has been experiencing challenging trading conditions, with rising overheads and lower demand for its high-end products. “Regrettably, 36 people have been made redundant with immediate effect. The company’s remaining 50 employees will be retained for a period to assist the Administrators to trade the business whilst a buyer is sought.”In its most recent accounts to April 2024, CW Sellors reported turnover of £28.5m, down from £30.4m in the prior year, and losses in excess of £2.1m. The business employed around 190 staff at that time. Directors noted that the year was impacted by the death of the founder and managing director in September 2023, alongside a tightening consumer environment. The accounts stated:“This has been a unique and challenging year for the business. We lost our founder and managing director in September 2023 following a period of illness, and the business initially found it difficult to adapt to that loss. This coincided with a tightening market as the cost of living crisis began to take hold.”The company continued to invest during the period, including the development of the Waters View site near Carsington Water, intended as a new headquarters incorporating manufacturing, showroom, and hospitality facilities. The directors said:“Notwithstanding these challenges, the business continued to invest for the future…”However, the Waters View development was subsequently placed on the market via Savills after construction costs increased significantly, with the overall build cost doubling following Covid-related inflation. The company concluded that completion of the project was no longer financially viable.

Update 5th January 2026For the second time Claire's has filed an intention to appoint administrators and the owner Modella Capital has also done the same for the Original Factory Shop.  This puts 2500 jobs at risk and is another blow to jobs in the High Street. Modella Capital bought the chain out of administration only in September 2025.  In a statement Modella said there had been a huge drop off in trade and that administration was the only option.----------------------------It has been reported that Claire's, the fashion accessories chain, has filed an intention to appoint administrators at the court today.  Interpath have been lined up to try and rescue the company, the move puts 2,150 jobs at risk.​​​​​The company has 278 shops in the UK and 28 in Ireland but has been struggling with falling sales and fierce competition.  The US arm of the company has already gone into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.Claire's said all outlets will continue trading while administrators at Interpath said they will "assess options for the company" once appointed.​Mr Cramer, the chief executive, said: “This decision, while difficult, is part of our broader effort to protect the long-term value of Claire’s across all markets.”Mr Wright at Interpath said: “Over the coming weeks, we will endeavour to continue to operate all stores as a going concern for as long as we can, while we assess options for the company.”​​The UK chain sits as part of the Claire’s empire, which stems from a base in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois.Claire’s French business, which has 239 stores, was forced to call in receivers last month.As such, it isn't really a UK specific problem.  The main issue has been that the teenagers and "tweens" who have been the bedrock of Claire's customer base worldwide now buy their "accessories" online, via influencers and from the likes of Temu and Shein.Many retailers have used CVAs to try and reduce costs but in the case of Claire's the problems were probably too deep and the benefit of exiting a few leases or reducing rents was not going to be enough.​A loan of £355m is due to be paid back in December 2026 and it is likely that the lenders ( who are secured so not bound by a CVA ) felt that time was up.  The last 3 years the company has lost £25m and turnover has fallen to £137m

Update 15th January 2026In order to facilitate the sale of Petrofac's assets allowing it to save 3000 jobs certain creditor claims will need to be compromised;Here is the announcement by the company https://www.petrofac.com/media/news/sale-of-petrofac-asset-solutions-to-cbi-company-voluntary-arrangement It has been reported that Petrofac, the oil company, has filed an intention to appoint administrators at the court today.  Teneo have been lined up to try and rescue the company, the move puts 2000 jobs at risk.​In a statement to the stock exchange early Monday, the company said it had applied to the High Court of England and Wales to appoint administrators to its ultimate holding company.“This action is a targeted administration of the holding company only, while the group’s operations will continue to trade,” it said.It appears that the UK operations of Petrofac are financially viable but the problems stem from its Abu Dhabi Operations where there has been a huge financial mess.A rescue deal collapsed last week when a major Dutch customer pulled out of a multibillion contract for wind farms and off shore drilling platformsA spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “The UK arm of Petrofac has not entered administration and is continuing to operate as normal, as an in-demand business with a highly skilled workforce and many successful contracts.“Petrofac’s administration is a product of longstanding issues in their global business. The Government will continue to work with the UK company as it focuses on its long-term future. Ministers are working across all parts of government led by DESNZ in support of this.”The firm, which has UK offices in Aberdeen, London, Woking and Greater Yarmouth, said further information on the administration process would be provided in due course.Given the strong performance of the UK arm of the business it is likely that Petrofac UK will be sold to another operator.

TheBusinessDesk.com has reported that Pizza Hut has gone into administration less than a year after a rescue plan.FTI has been appointed as administrators by DC London Pie Ltd, the business established to manage Pizza Hut UK following a pre-pack agreement. Six weeks after HMRC filed a winding-up petition against the company, the action was taken.Yum! III (UK) Limited, the applicant for today's filing, is a division of Yum! Brands, Inc., an American food outlet operator based in Louisville, Kentucky, which is in control of the company.Last year, 3,000 jobs were spared when Directional Capital, which controlled franchises in Sweden and Denmark, purchased the 139 restaurants in a pre-pack deal.Investor Pricoa Capital, which had supported a management buyout, was owed over £40 million when Pizza Hut UK's former owner, Heart with Smart Limited, went bust.Pizza Hut is to close 68 restaurants and 11 delivery sites with the loss of 1,210 jobs after falling into administration.However, Pizza Hut's global owner Yum! Brands has agreed to save 64 restaurants in the UK, preserving 1,276 jobs.​