Retail entrepreneur Curtis swoops on high street chain Paperchase

An executive who has led investments in chains such as Tie Rack has swooped to buy Paperchase, the high street stationer.

Sky News understands that Steve Curtis, an operating partner at Rcapital, the turnaround investor, is fronting a consortium which has struck a deal to acquire the business.

Sources said on Thursday that the deal was expected to be confirmed before the end of the week.

Mr Curtis, who has also chaired Jigsaw, the fashion chain, is understood to have seen off competition from rivals including Hilco to buy Paperchase.

Retail Realisation, an industry advisory firm with which Mr Curtis and Rcapital are affiliated, is also involved in the deal.

Paperchase was put up for auction 18 months after it became one of the numerous retail casualties of COVID-19, having undergone a pre-pack administration in January 2021.

The selling shareholder is Permira Credit, which has controlled the chain since then.

Paperchase trades from about 100 stores, and Mr Curtis is said to back an existing management plan to grow that number to approximately 150 in the coming years.

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The chain has seen an improvement in its financial and operating performance, aided by the closure of a number of stores as part of last year’s insolvency process.

Permira Credit has invested in Paperchase’s digital offering as well as new shop openings and executive recruitment since its brush with administration.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, which handled the pre-pack process, is overseeing the sale to Mr Curtis’s consortium.

The value of the deal is unclear.

At the time of its brush with insolvency, Paperchase employed nearly 1,300 people, and traded from more than 125 sites across the UK.

Its outlets included concessions at House of Fraser, Selfridges and a number of Next stores.

A person close to the company said in April that its digital sales had grown strongly in the 2019-2021 period, with plans to expand that presence into seven European countries through an Amazon Marketplace offering.

Its current physical retail estate comprises 96 standalone shops and 32 concessions.

Revenue is forecast to double between its 2021 and 2024 financial years, according to the person.

The plan to grow the chain by 50% is a bold bet on the potential of the Paperchase brand and business model given the challenging economic backdrop.

Permira Credit, which is affiliated to Permira, the global private equity firm, had supported Paperchase for several years as a lender, but took a controlling stake last year through a vehicle called Aspen Phoenix NewCo.

Paperchase was one of dozens of prominent retailers which crashed into insolvency during the COVID-19 crisis, with other notable names including Debenhams and the Dorothy Perkins-to-TopShop empire, Arcadia Group.

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