A Write Card reopening Walsall and Halesowen shops after liquidation woe

A Write Card last month shut the doors at all 15 branches including Walsall, Halesowen and Lichfield due to difficult trading conditions.

The Walsall based chain was previously operated by a company called Card Party Limited.

That business collapsed on January 7 stating it could no longer trade "by reason of its liabilities".

Since then the owners have set up a new company called A Write Card Ltd and have reopened four branches including Walsall's Park Street branch, and in Great Cornbow, Halesowen – resulting in some jobs being saved.

A Write Card's managing director John Paul Banbury said: "We had 15 branches, but unfortunately we had to take a decision to go into liquidation at the beginning of January. It was a tough decision because this has been a family run business for 35 years.

"But we have more or less paid all our liabilities and suppliers, hopefully we will come out strong.

"Unfortunately everyone lost their jobs, but as we are getting the shops back we are offering some of the people their jobs back. We have so far opened four shops out of the 15 resulting in 20 workers coming back.

"Some of them had already found jobs elsewhere and chose to hand in their notices and return to us, which was nice to see. We have employed them on the same terms and contracts.

"We are reopening 10 branches in total."

"You read abut the general trends of the high street which is being affected by out of town shopping centres which is not driving people into town centres. The main issue is the decline in footfall," Mr Banbury added.

In addition to Halesowen and Walsall stores, Bromsgrove and Burton upon Trent have reopened this month.

Customers arriving at the stores shortly after Christmas were greeted by a notice stating: "At a meeting of the board of directors of Card Party Limited trading as A Write Card it was concluded that the company could no longer trade by reason of its liabilities.

"The company has ceased trading with effect from January 7, 2020.

"The board has instructed Mr Timothy Frank Corfield, a licensed insolvency practitioner of Griffin & King, in relation to the winding-up of the company and his proposed appointment as liquidator by the Deemed Consent procedure.

"Information regarding the proposed liquidation will be circulated to creditors of the company as soon as possible."

The chain is listed by Companies House as operating from Greetings House, in Bescot Crescent, Bescot. There is also a warehouse which is run as a separate business.

Other branches were based in Tamworth, Coventry, Nuneaton, Derby, Gloucester, Redditch, Worcester and Cheltenham.