Private Equity Firm Drowns High Street Spirits, Puts 2,550 Jobs on Ice
KEY POINTS
- •Modella Capital, owner of Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop, has started insolvency proceedings due to tough trading.
- •They also recently acquired WH Smith’s high street division, rebranding it as TG Jones, aiming to revive the failing stores.
- •The company cited an 'alarming drop-off in pre-Christmas footfall' as a major reason for putting 2,550 jobs at risk.
In a season decidedly less jolly than planned, Modella Capital—owner of Claire's, The Original Factory Shop, and the freshly rebranded TG Jones (formerly WH Smith’s high street arm)—has thrown in the admin towel. The announcement comes as they confess 'extremely challenging' high street trading and 'alarming drop-off in pre-Christmas footfall' led to 2,550 job lives rolling the dice. Bought with gusto, the private equity firm now witnesses their once prized shops sinking faster than a turkey on Black Friday, proving even rebranding from WH Smith to TG Jones won't magically stuff those stockings.
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When your private equity plan for saving retail ends with 2,550 jobs ‘extremely’ endangered, maybe 'challenging' is just a sugarcoat. Spoiler: Footfall dropped harder than your overpriced holiday snack budget.
Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop got bought, rebranded, then politely asked to shut down. Corporate cheer, folks!
Modella Capital’s masterclass in retail: buy it, rename it, apologize for it, sink it. If only insolvency was a sales tactic.
Source: Theguardian | Published: 1/5/2026 | Author: Sarah Butler
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