BBC Dragon Touker Suleyman is one of the front runners to buy the UK arm of fashion accessories chain Claire’s out of administration.
Suleyman, a star of Dragons’ Den since 2015, is the owner of menswear label Hawes & Curtis and womenswear brand Ghost, which he rescued in 2001 and 2008 respectively.
Sky News, reporting the potential swoop, said he had pledged to retain Claire’s head office and many of its UK stores.
The other favourite in the race is retail investor Modella Capital, which this year agreed to buy the high street division of WH Smith.
Modella, owner of Hobbycraft, is the investment firm which in January worked alongside fellow Dragon Sara Davies to save Crafter’s Companion, the company she founded as a student two decades ago.
In August we reported how Davies has increased her stake in the business after Modella sold its share to Maven Capital Partners. She said at the time: “Modella joined me to rescue the company at a critical moment. Over the past eight months, we’ve worked side-by-side to bring it back to profitability, recalibrating the finances, stabilising operations, and pivoting the business back to its roots, all while navigating challenging economic conditions.
“The result is a business that’s now firmly on a strong, sustainable growth path.”
Sunrise Records’ Doug Putman, who rescued HMV in 2019, is also in discussions with Interpath, the administrator appointed to handle Claire’s insolvency last month.
Any deal would also have to be approved by Ames Watson, the private equity firm which last month snapped up Claire’s United States operations.
In August Claire’s was placed into administration – putting 2,150 jobs at risk – but said its 278 shops in the UK and 28 in Ireland would remain open while any rescue discussions took place.
The firm had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware in the US earlier that month, blaming “increased competition, consumer spending trends and the ongoing shift away from brick-and-mortar retail” for its impending collapse.
Claire’s recorded a pre-tax loss of £4m on falling sales of £137m for the year to 3rd February 2024.
The firm is controlled by former creditors from an earlier 2018 bankruptcy in the US, including investment firms Elliott Management Corp and Monarch Alternative Capital LP.
The wider group has 2,750 stores in 17 countries.