Kate's parents Carole and Michael Middleton sell party supply firm after insolvency fears
The Middleton's business Party Pieces Holdings has been bought by entrepreneur James Sinclair after failing to avoid falling into administration.
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Carole and Michael Middleton, parents of Kate, Princess of Wales, have sold their party planning business after fears of becoming insolvent, according to reports. The Middletons, who were guests at the Coronation earlier this month, launched their company Party Pieces Holdings in 1987 but it has now been bought by entrepreneur James Sinclair for an undisclosed sum.
Sky News said the sale had been implemented through a pre-pack administration, meaning it had appointed insolvency practitioners before being sold without some of its liabilities.
So far it is not clear how much Mr Sinclair's company, Teddy Tastic Bear Co Ltd, has paid or how big the liabilities were that had been left behind.
Mr Sinclair "operates a £30m business which includes leisure, childcare, outdoor attractions, commercial property, arts and crafts manufacturing as well as one of the UK's oldest ice cream companies; The Rossi Ice Cream Company", according to his website.
Carole, 68, and Michael, 73, had wanted to sell Party Pieces with a dowry and avert insolvency but this proved impossible, insiders said.
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Interpath Advisory is understood to have been appointed as administrator in court on Thursday morning.
Mr Sinclair wasn't the only one to bid for the company, with Club Green, a decades-old family-owned business also putting an offer in.
According to information circulated to potential bidders, Party Pieces had shown "some recent UK performance contraction during international expansion and focus on margins".
It comes just weeks after friends of Carole and Michael revealed the couple was planning to retire and step away from the firm to spend more time "for family, gardening and travel".
The company was first inspired by their eldest daughter Kate, as they planned for her fifth birthday.
Party Pieces fast evolved, starting as a place to go for organising imaginative children's parties, before expanding into selling party decorations, tableware and personalised gifts.