Timpson rescues struggling watch repair shop
Watch and jewellery repair shop In-Time has been rescued by Timpson, only a few weeks after collapse.
The Southport-headquartered company ceased trading in the days running up to Christmas, and had announced its intentions to appoint liquidators.
Timpson has acquired 35 shops and is believed to have saved 110 jobs.
In-Time have traded since 1981 and at one point had operated around 50 branches.
Geoff Rowley and Tony Wright of business advisory firm FRP were appointed as joint administrators on January 5, before sealing a deal for a pre-pack sale to Timpson.
FRP said that “declining sales linked to unforeseen kiosk closures as well as increased material and import costs had impacted the business’ cashflow”.
In-Time issued a statement on their website apologising for the closures:
“We would like to apologise to all of our customers who have been affected by the recent short notice closure of all In-Time stores and the ceased trading across our business.
“Please be assured that all repairs that have been left with us have been stored securely during this period.
“We are working tirelessly to reopen our stores and we will be contacting all of our customers as soon as we are able, to update them on the current status of their repair and the next steps.”