Struggling jewellery ear piercing chain Claire's Accessories has called in specialist advisers to cobble together a last ditch rescue plan.
The high street retailer, which has almost 300 UK stores, faces a looming deadline for an outstanding $480million (£355million) loan that has to be repaid by December next year.
Restructuring experts at Interpath are leading the search for investors who could pick up all or part of the UK operations.
The retailer has drafted in an army of advisers to draw up a last-ditch rescue plan amid fears that it is unable to make a looming debt repayment.
Faced with an outstanding $480m (£355m) loan that must be repaid in December 2026, Claire's, which has nearly 300 UK shops, began scrambling to conserve cash earlier this year.
Restructuring experts at Interpath have been tasked with seeking investors willing to salvage all or part of its UK operations, which has a core customer base of teens and young adults.
It has two major outlets on Oxford Street as well a further branches in high profile locations such as the Westfield and Brent Cross shopping centres, and the O2 in Greenwich.
It is the latest setback for high street stalwarts struggling with ballooning costs and intense competition from online rivals.
The UK arm forms part of a much bigger group with its headquarters in Chicago with a total of 2,300 outlets across North America and Europe.
It is feared that any rescue deal will result in large scale store closures and in some cases exiting countries altogether.
Claire's claims to have carried out more ear piercings than any other retailer.
Claire's American operations are expected to seek bankruptcy protection for the second time in seven years.
Its UK arm has made losses totalling £25 million over the last three years.
The most recent accounts show it was £4.7 million in the red in the year to March 2024, a slight improvement from £5 million the previous period. Turnover dipped to £137m.
Directors said "general economic conditions including inflation, currency rates, labour supply and transportation capacity" had affected the company's operating and product costs.
