Claire's Accessories administrators bill nearly £10m at up to £1,515 an hour as creditors face £22m losses

From the Newshound archive · first published 22 September 2026 · last updated 23 September 2026.

Administrators handling the double collapse of Claire's Accessories are charging creditors close to £10m in fees, with senior partners billing at £1,515 per hour, while unsecured creditors face losses of £22.5m across both insolvency processes. Interpath, overseeing the original August 2025 collapse, is seeking creditor approval for an additional £3.2m on top of its initial £4m bill, citing a "significantly higher volume of work" than expected. Restructuring firm Kroll, handling the second administration, has racked up a further £2.2m in unpaid fees. The double failure wiped out more than 2,000 jobs and ended Claire's three-decade presence on the British high street.

Unsecured creditors — including suppliers and landlords owed £22.5m across both collapses — are unlikely to recover a penny.

Claire's was rescued by Mayfair private equity firm Modella Capital in September 2025, only to collapse again within four months, in January 2026.

The engagement has reportedly been described as "uncharacteristically complex and demanding" to justify fees averaging £909 an hour across their teams.