02 April 2024 , 20:41
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Carole and Michael Middleton are unable to pay the £260,000 fees owed to the insolvency firm following the collapse of their business, it has been reported.
Princess of Wales' parents had operated Party Pieces but this fell into administration last year, owing creditors £2.6million. Interpath Advisory (IA), a city firm drafted in to handle the insolvency, is reportedly unable to cover all recoupment costs.
The insolvency process involved longer hours than expected to meet statutory requirements and queries from creditors, it is believed. While the firm has received fees of £51,437 and is expected to recoup more over time, it has determined that it will not be able to cover the total amount of the incurred expenses, it is claimed.
The Mirror has contacted IA regarding the claims, originally reported in The Times. It also says Party Pieces was founded by Carole and Michael Middleton in 1987, seven years after they married. It was a business selling party paraphernalia and was once so successful that the money generated helped pay to send Princess Kate, and her siblings Pippa and James, to the prestigious Marlborough College, a boarding school in Wiltshire.
Since then, it ran into financial difficulties during the pandemic and it ultimately fell into administration. The business was last year sold to entrepreneur James Sinclair for £180,000 through a pre-pack administration, according to the Times, leaving Interpath Advisory with limited funds to meet obligations to creditors.
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The Princess of Wales's 69-year-old mother, Carole, stepped back from the day-to-day running of the business in 2019 and became a brand ambassador but was "parachuted back" to help run the company as it sought a rescue deal in spring 2023.
Michael, 74, quit his job as a manager at British Airways to join his wife full-time at Party Pieces in 1989. In 1995, the firm's growth necessitated its headquarters be moved to a range of farm buildings at Ashampstead Common, Berkshire.
Following Princess Kate's cancer news, former British Airways flight attendant Carole was said to have been "desperately upset". Jennie Bond, who was the BBC's former royal correspondent, told The Mirror: "We should also spare a thought for another mother in this - Carole Middleton. Catherine may be 42, but she is still Carole's little girl, and to watch her go through this and withstand the bullying pressure to explain must have been desperately upsetting. She has no doubt been a tower of strength and a comforting presence for the children, but she, too, will need reassurance."