Restructuring professionals drafted in to handle the insolvency of Carole and Michael Middleton’s business have hit a major setback. Interpath Advisory (IA), a city firm, has found itself unable to cover all recoupment costs as the growing sum surpasses £260,000, it has been claimed.
Party Pieces fell into administration last year, owing creditors £2.6 million and IA was subsequently appointed to handle the insolvency process. But according to the Times, the firm found that the realisation of the Middletons’ company’s assets proved insufficient to cover the advisers’ time costs of £268,928.
This resulted in IA being unable to recoup the total fees, it’s claimed, despite restructuring professionals charging an average hourly rate of £566. The insolvency process involved longer hours than expected to meet statutory requirements and queries from creditors.
But while the firm has received fees of £51,437 and is expected to recoup more over time, it has determined that it will not be able to cover the total amount of the incurred expenses.
Party Pieces was started by Princess Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton in 1987 as a business selling party paraphernalia and was once so successful that the money generated helped pay to send Princess Kate, and her siblings Pippa and James, to the prestigious Marlborough College.
But since then it ran into financial difficulties during the pandemic and it ultimately fell into administration.
The business was last year sold to entrepreneur James Sinclair for £180,000 through a pre-pack administration, according to the Times, leaving Interpath Advisory with limited funds to meet obligations to creditors.
The Princess of Wales’s mother, Carole, stepped back from the day-to-day running of the business in 2019 and became a brand ambassador but was “parachuted back” to help run the company as it sought a rescue deal in spring 2023.
Requests for comment from the Middleton family have not been answered.
Julie Palmer, a partner at Begbies Traynor, a management consulting company, said: “It’s been one of the toughest few years on record for consumer-facing businesses.
“Many of those that survived the pandemic have taken support loans or depleted their reserves, only to be catapulted into a perfect storm of high-cost inflation and supply chain volatility, combined with dwindling consumer discretionary spending as higher interest rates and the cost of living crisis hit hard.
“Even the best-known brands are not immune to the current malaise and, with many now needing to repay support loans, we expect to see further high-profile casualties succumbing to these pressures unless the economic environment improves significantly and quickly.”
