Shop workers at Claire’s fashion stores in the Midlands at risk of redundancy as high street chain falls into administration
Shop workers at Claire’s Accessories stores across the Midlands have been put at risk of redundancy with the news the high street fashion chain is being put into administration.
The accessories brand, headquartered in Birmingham, has a raft of outlets in shopping centres across the West Midlands including in Wolverhampton, West Bromwich, Merry Hill, Birmingham New Street, Birmingham’s Bullring, Stafford, Hanley - Stoke-on-Trent, Sutton Coldfield, Solihull, and Lichfield.
It also has branches in Shropshire in Telford and Shrewsbury and at the McArthur Glen Outlet at Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan.
Around 2,500 staff across the UK have been placed at risk of redundancy following confirmation from investment firm Modella Capital that it has kickstarted insolvency proceedings for Claire's Accessories UK & Ireland, along with The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) which it bought last year.
Modella Capital said “last ditch attempts” to save the businesses had fallen through, with no realistic possibility of trading profitably again.
A notice of intention to appoint an administrator was filed in relation to both chains on Monday afternoon, PA news agency has reported, leaving 1,355 employees at 154 Claire’s shops in the UK and Ireland facing job losses and 1,220 staff at 140 TOFS’ stores.
A spokesperson for Modella Capital said: "Very sadly, we have had to initiate insolvency proceedings for The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) and Claire's Accessories UK & Ireland. This has been a very tough decision.
"We have worked intensively in an effort to save both businesses, having made last-ditch attempts to rescue them, but neither has a realistic possibility of trading profitably again. In these circumstances, Administration is the only option. In both cases, the legacy effects of trading prior to our ownership left them highly vulnerable.
"The climate on the High Street remains extremely challenging, and TOFS and Claire's are not alone in experiencing difficulties. This is borne out by recent Sensormatic statistics and other data sources suggesting an alarming drop-off in pre-Christmas footfall.
"A combination of very weak consumer confidence, highly adverse government fiscal policies and continued cost inflation is causing many established and much-loved businesses to suffer badly. It’s a simple fact that if retailers can’t make money, they risk having to close – and jobs across the country are lost."
Modella, which bought WH Smith’s high street chain last year and took over arts and crafts retailer Hobbycraft in 2024, purchased more than 150 Claire’s shops last year, but 145 were not included in the deal, leading to their closure. This included outlets in Walsall and Resorts World Birmingham.
The fashion accessories chain had appointed administrators for its UK and Ireland business after filing for bankruptcy in the US in summer 2025.
Discount department store chain TOFS, which sells everyday items such as cleaning and beauty products, electrical goods and footwear, was sold to the investment firm in February, and both retailers underwent restructuring in an effort to save them.
TOFS, which operates in the former Woolworths unit in Bridgnorth High Street, is one of the Shropshire town's largest retailers and one of the chain's best-performing stores in the region, according to local consultancy Good2Great.
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