Beghins announces liquidation

Wednesday 20 March 2019

A 177-year-old shoe shop which suddenly closed its stores in Guernsey and Jersey is going into liquidation, despite previous hopes it could reopen.

Beghins, which has been trading in the islands since 1842, has officially given notice that it is selling off its assets, and won't be attempting to set up shop again across the islands.

The company's Guernsey and Jersey premises closed abruptly last month amid money troubles and an ongoing tenancy row, but Pavers - the York-based footwear chain that bought the Beghins business 12 months ago - initially didn’t rule out the company’s return to the Channel Islands.

In a statement at the time, Pavers said it was "actively looking for alternative locations on both islands and look forward to hopefully reopening in the near future".

But the notice of Beghins' liquidation in both Guernsey and Jersey this week appears to stamp out those hopes.

Pictured: The shelves were emptied immediately when it was announced the High Street shoe shop was closing. 

The announcement of the business’s liquidation was first published as a notice in the Jersey Government’s Gazette, explaining that the decision was taken at a meeting of all the members of the company on 8 March.

The notice said that all of the company’s creditors are to get in touch with appointed liquidators at Grant Thornton to settle any claims.

A similar notice has now appeared in Guernsey's La Gazette Officielle (pictured above). 

Announcing the closure of both the Channel Islands stores, Pavers blamed the “challenging retail environment” and an apparently long-standing row with landlords for the “difficult decision”.