Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop have gone into administration – here’s what that means for UK high streets

Last year, Claire’s Accessories and The Original Factory Shop both came painfully close to disappearing from UK high streets for good. Luckily, investment firm Modella Capital (which also runs WHSmith and Hobbycraft) swooped in to save the day – it acquired the Original Factory Shop at the start of 2025 and took over Claire’s back in September. 

But less than a year later, Modella’s efforts to give the retailers a new lease of life have led to both chains going into administration. Now the remaining 150 Claire’s stores could also disappear from our high streets, and 140 Original Factory Shop outlets could say goodbye. Here’s everything we know. 

Why are Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop going into administration? 

Modella said that both chain’s were already ‘highly vulnerable’ when it took them over, and put its decision down to a combination of ‘very weak consumer confidence, highly adverse government fiscal policies and continued cost inflation’. 

It added: ‘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.’

What will happen to Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop?

Right now, administrators will be looking for new buyers to rescue the brands – but if a buyer isn’t found, both are likely to be liquidated with all branches closing down. Between the two business, there are more than 300 high street stores across the UK that could be shut down. No closures have been confirmed yet, but roughly 1,350 jobs at Claire’s and 1,200 jobs at the Original Factory Shop are under threat.

See the full list of UK high street closures that happened in 2025. 

ICYMI: All the River Island stores shutting down in January 2026. 

Plus: The ‘idyllic’ town that has been named the best high street in Britain (outside London).