Former jewellery tycoon Gerald Ratner made a £1 million bid for collapsed accessories chain Claire’s before it was snapped up by a private equity firm, The Mail on Sunday understands.
Last week, Claire’s, which holds a special place in the memories of many Britons with its racks of sparkly earrings and glittery hair scrunchies, was rescued from administration by Modella Capital, which also owns Hobbycraft and TG Jones, the new name it gave to the former High Street stores of WH Smith.
The private equity firm warned it had only bought 156 of the 301 Claire’s stores across the UK and Ireland, and that job losses and shop closures were ‘inevitable’.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Modella was not the only bidder for the chain, with a consortium led by Ratner having made its own tilt at the retailer.
The former jewellery boss’s offer included £500,000 for ‘fixtures, fittings and IT’ and an additional £500,000 to cover ‘estate costs,’ according to details of the bid seen by this newspaper.
A source close to the discussions also said the consortium had been prepared to ‘take on all of the stores’, potentially saving even more jobs than the rescue by Modella, the price tag of which has not been revealed.
Saved: Claire’s, which holds a special place in the memories of many Britons with its racks of sparkly earrings and glittery hair scrunchies, was rescued from administration
The latest revelation comes as Ratner, 75, mounts a campaign to return to the High Street more than 30 years after an infamous joke about the quality of his company’s products brought his career crashing down.
At its peak, Ratner’s was the UK’s largest jewellery chain with 2,500 stores, including 1,000 in the US, and a turnover of nearly £200 million a year. But in April 1991, Ratner told a conference of the Institute of Directors at the Albert Hall that one of its products was ‘total c**p’. He later apologised, saying newspapers misinterpreted his speech. But it led to a plunge in sales and £500 million being wiped off the value of the business. The episode achieved legendary status among businesspeople, with ‘doing a Ratner’ referring to executive gaffes. He returned to the business world in 1996 when he started a health club, which he sold for £4 million in 2001.
In June, The Mail on Sunday revealed that Ratner was plotting to buy back the UK arm of his former business, which includes H Samuel and Ernest Jones, from its US owner Signet. He is also eyeing other High Street targets, according to a source, as retailers struggle under pressure from Labour’s tax raid on businesses and the cost of living crisis.
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