Party supplies firm founded by the Middletons sold after collapse

theguardian.com:

The online party supplies retailer founded by the parents of the Princess of Wales has been sold after collapsing into administration.

Party Pieces, founded in 1987 by Catherine’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, was bought out of administration on Thursday by the entrepreneur James Sinclair, who owns businesses including Teddy Tastic Bear Co Ltd.

It has not been disclosed how much Sinclair paid to buy the business and its assets in a pre-pack administration, first reported by Sky News.

Will Wright and Chris Pole from the financial restructuring firm Interpath Advisory were appointed joint administrators to Party Pieces on Thursday and immediately sold the business to Teddy Tastic Bear Co.

James Sinclair is described on his personal website as “the founder and CEO of the Partyman group of companies”, including leisure and childcare businesses as well as outdoor attractions. His assets also include the Rossi ice-cream company, which has produced ice-cream in Essex since 1932.

Sinclair, whose website states that he started out in business as a teenage children’s entertainer, also offers two-day business masterclasses, with the next event scheduled to take place in September.

The sale of Party Pieces marks the end of the Middletons’ ownership of the business they founded in 1987, which had run into trouble in recent years.

Carole Middleton has previously described how she was inspired to set up the company after failing to find suitable party supplies in the shops for Kate’s fifth birthday party. She subsequently started the business from the kitchen table at the family’s Berkshire home.

Party Pieces suffered a significant knock to trade during the Covid pandemic, which put a stop to parties and celebrations for months at a