Popular high street chain ‘saved’ by Tesco but 106 stores are still at risk of closing – see the full list

A POPULAR high street chain has been “saved” by Tesco but 106 stores are still at risk of closing.

The supermarket giant has confirmed that it has bought the Paperchase brand after it collapsed into administration.

Tesco has confirmed plans to buy the Paperchase brandCredit: Getty

However, Tesco’s deal does not include any of the retailer’s 106 stores.

The supermarket has only purchased the intellectual property and Paperchase brand name.

In the meantime, all stores will remain open and trading as normal.

But it is unclear how many 820 jobs will be lost as part of the move.

High street shop ‘could be rescued by Tesco’ today – but stores are at risk

Paperchase goes bust putting 106 stores at risk of closing forever

Jan Marchant, managing director of home and clothing at Tesco said: “Paperchase is a well-loved brand by so many, and we’re proud to bring it to Tesco stores across the UK.

“We have been building out plans to bring more brands and inspiration to the ranges we currently offer, and this will help us to take those plans further.

“We look forward to sharing more with our customers in due course.”

The Joint Administrators, who were appointed to Aspen Phoenix Newco Limited, which trades as Paperchase said: “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.”

What does going into administration mean?

When a company enters administration, all control is passed to an appointed administrator – who has to be a licensed insolvency practitioner.

Their goal is to leverage the company’s assets and business to repay creditors.

Once the administrator has taken over, 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 will write to your creditors and Companies House to say they’ve been appointed.

They will try to stop the company being liquidated but if they can’t, the administrator will pay as much of a company’s debts as possible from the assets.

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.

Gift cards – your rights explained

When a company goes into administration, the people appointed to manage the process can decide whether to allow the use of gift cards or not.

It means you’ll need to keep an eye on the administration process to see what your rights are.

The administrators are allowed to stop accepting gift cards at any point.

If the administrators later decide that you can’t use your vouchers, you should register a claim with the administrators for the value of the vouchers.

This also applies if the company can’t be saved through administration and is later liquidated.

However, you may not get this money back if other creditors are owed money too. You may also only get a portion of the money back.

If the voucher or amount put on a gift card was for more than £100, then it may be possible to claim the money back if it was purchased with a credit card.