Administrators on standby as Paperchase searches for buyer

High street stationer Paperchase has called in Begbies Traynor as potential administrators as it looks to find new backers, Sky News has reported.

Paperchase is reportedly seeking a solvent rescue deal, and that Begbies Traynor’s role represented “sensible contingency planning” if no agreement could be reached.

It was revealed earlier this month that Paperchase had been put up for sale only four months after its last change of ownership, when retail investor Steve Curtis snapped up the chain.

Now trading at 100 stores, Curtis was said to be backing an existing management plan to operate from 150 units when he took over. During its last sales process, the retailer was trading from 125 stores and employed nearly 1,300 people.

It is unclear how many jobs and stores would be at risk should the chain go into administration again.

Paperchase is now being auctioned by accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The stationer was one of many to suffer at the hands of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with Debenhams and the Arcadia Group, having undergone a pre-pack administration in January 2021.