Hobbycraft-Owner Modella Buys About Half of Claire's UK Stores Out of Bankruptcy

Modella Capital Acquires Majority of Claire's UK Stores from Bankruptcy

(Reuters) -Hobbycraft-owner Modella Capital has bought just over half of U.S.-based jewellery chain Claire's stores in Britain and Ireland, saving around 1,000 jobs, the administrators of the UK and Irish business said on Monday.

Investment company Modella, which bought WH Smith's British high street business for $100 million in June, will buy 156 Claire's stores from administrators Interpath Advisory for an undisclosed amount.

The administrators will continue to operate the remaining stores while continuing to assess options for them, Interpath said.

The Birmingham-headquartered UK and Irish operations of Claire's employed over 2,150 workers across 306 stores, when it entered administration in August, days after its parent filed for bankruptcy in a Delaware court.

Founded in 1961 in the United States, Claire's is known for its trend-led accessories and for ear-piercing.

Its U.S. operations were bought out of bankruptcy by private equity firm Ames Watson for $140 million earlier this month.

"Discussions with other interested parties continue in relation to the Claire’s entities in France, Italy and Poland,” Interpath said.

(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru. Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Mark Potter)