Brewdog: James Watt ‘heartbroken’ as craft beer firm sold March 4, 2026 Brewdog co-founder James Watt has said he is “heartbroken” after the craft beer titan’s sale cost nearly 500 jobs and left thousands of “punk equity” investors empty-handed. Watt, who co-founded the firm with his school friend Martin Dickie in 2007, said the past week “has been incredibly hard” and described the sale to US cannabis [...]
Owner of former WH Smith shops calls for help as stores at risk March 2, 2026 The investment firm which owns a string of former WH Smith stores has called in emergency advisors as it prepares for a drastic restructuring which could leave 80 stores at risk. Modella Capital, which bought stationers WH Smith’s retail division in June 2025, has brought on advisers at consultancy firm Teneo to direct its restructuring, [...]
Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop collapse into administration, risking thousands of jobs January 6, 2026 High street chains Claire’s and The Original Factory Shop (TOFS) are being put into administration, after their owner said “last-ditch” measures had fallen through, putting about 2,500 UK staff at risk of redundancy. The two retailers had already undergone restructuring and were bought by investment firm Modella Capital last year. Modella said it had made [...]
Bake-off: Ex-WH Smith finance chief withdraws from Greggs role after audit blunder November 19, 2025 The former finance chief of WH Smith will no longer take up a position on the board of Greggs after a damning audit report into the travel retailer revealed inconsistent accounting practices during his stint as finance boss. In a statement to investors on Wednesday, the high-street bakery confirmed that Robert Moorhead, who stepped down [...]
WH Smith nears sale of high street chain as revenue rises June 4, 2025 WH Smith has confirmed it remains on track to sell its high street division to the owner of Hobbycraft by the end of the month. In March, the FTSE 250 company announced it had agreed to offload the arm to private equity firm Modella in a deal which valued it at £76m. When complete, the [...]
WH Smith: High street profit slumps ahead of Modella sale April 16, 2025 WHSmith’s high street division has reported a significant drop in trading profit, falling by over 30 per cent as it prepares for its sale to private equity firm Modella Capitlal. The retailer’s high street business delivered a profit of £15m for the six months to Febuary 28, 2025, down from £22m in the same period [...]