A department store chain that closed its remaining Wiltshire branches earlier this year owed £131 million at the time of its collapse.
The Original Factory Shop fell into administration earlier this year, with branches in Melksham, Corsham, and Warminster all closing down. In total, the firm's "phased closures" saw 137 outlets shut and almost 1,200 jobs impacted.
The closures drew "great sadness" from affected staff members, however, recent reports state that the company owed significant amounts of money as it went into administration.
According to reporting in The Herald, a report reveals for the first time the extent of the company’s debts, with creditors expected to lose £110m.
Richard Harrison and James Clark of Interpath were appointed as joint administrators to the discount department stores offering a "broad range of branded and own-sourced products, including clothing, homewares, beauty items, toys and seasonal goods".
The administrators said The Factory Shop Limited, trading as The Original Factory Shop, had debts that included £7m owed to AFC, £3m to Deasil, £4.2m to Flatford Mill, £3m to HMRC and £114m to unsecured creditors.
The administrators said £3.6m had been paid to unsecured creditors. Trade creditors were owed £12.7m and landlord claims topped £10m.
The administrators said: “Throughout the trading period, the joint administrators have continued to explore options for a sale of the business and/or certain of its assets, with continued engagement from multiple interested parties.”
Having been owned by Duke Street for 17 years, the company was sold in February 2025 to Modella Acquisition following a formal sale process amid “financial distress”.
The administrators said: “After the acquisition, and in light of the company's financial performance of a loss before tax of £11.6m in 2025, shortly following the transaction, management sought to explore options to improve trading results and reduce the internal cost base.
“Interpath was engaged in February 2025 to evaluate the restructuring options available to the company.”
The closure of the Melksham branch on March 22 came to the “great sadness” of staff at the site, who urged customers to treat their staff with sensitivity
In February, the branch issued a notice to customers to show “sympathy and respect” to staff members as they continued to wind down.
A spokesperson said: “We do not set any of the prices this is set by the administrators, not us. So again please do not come and shout at the team about it's not cheap enough for a closing down sale as has been happening today. This is not us setting these prices we are just instructed on what to do.
“We are dealing with a larger volume of workload currently with new stock still arriving, departments are continuing to be reduced as and when the company decides and we are dealing with a lot more customers which is great, but please bare with us we are doing our best.”
