Stanley Gibbons looks set to fall into administration as part of a plan to secure the future of the 167-year-old rare stamp dealer.
The firm, which one of the most prominent names in the stamp and coin collecting world, will appoint administrators at PricewaterhouseCooper as soon as today.
It comes just over a year after it was delisted in London and is likely to alarm the 66 staff as well as customers and suppliers so close to Christmas.
But the Mail understands it will be immediately bought back by its owners Phoenix Asset Management in a ‘pre-pack’ administration.
Phoenix, the biggest shareholder, took Stanley Gibbons off the stock market last year.
Black-letter day: Rare stamp and coin dealer Stanley Gibbons w ill appoint administrators at PricewaterhouseCoopers
It was set up by chief investment officer Gary Channon and backed by insurance tycoon Sir Peter Wood.
Other major investments include model train maker and Airfix owner Hornby.
Stanley Gibbons, the world’s longest established rare stamp merchant, said it and its coin dealing business, AH Baldwin & Sons, ‘have each filed a notice of intention to appoint an administrator’.
A spokesman for the firm said: ‘We would like to reassure customers and wider stakeholders that we are continuing to operate and are exploring all options to seek a continuation of the business.’
Shares in Stanley Gibbons, whose eponymous founder was born in 1840, the year the Penny Black was issued, were traded on the stock market for 20 years before it was taken private by Phoenix in 2022.
It lost £2.9million last year, having made a loss of £2.6million in the previous year.
Phoenix was set up by Channon in 1998 and recently linked up with Wood, who was behind Direct Line and Esure, to invest in British brands. In May, it bought funeral directors Dignity.
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