Christy & Co. Limited, the Witney-based company behind the historic Christys hat brand founded in 1773, voted to wind itself up.
?According to The Gazette, a public record, members of the firm passed formal resolutions at a virtual general meeting on Thursday, February 12, to place the business into voluntary liquidation.
The notice shows shareholders agreed that the company “be wound up voluntarily” and appointed insolvency specialists Yiannis Koumettou and Amie Helen Johnson, of BTG Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP in Northampton, as joint liquidators.
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Laird Hatters has taken over the Christys brand.
A separate Gazette entry confirms the process is a creditors’ voluntary liquidation, with the joint liquidators appointed by both members and creditors on the same date.
This does not spell the end for the historic Christys, though, as London hatmaker Laird Hatters stepped in to buy the brand.
Alex Torun?Shaw, who runs Laird with his wife Zofia, told this newspaper: “Late last year, in October, we were contacted about the possibility of saving Christys the brand, the company already being insolvent.
“As we understand it, Christys had been available for sale for some time, but we were only approached very late in the process.
“When the opportunity was presented to us, it felt like both a privilege and a responsibility to step in.”
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Zofia and Alex Torun-Shaw. (Image: SWNS)
He added: “Of course, it was very sad to hear that the Witney-based company Christy & Co. had gone into liquidation and was closing its doors.
“We would have loved to have kept Christys in Witney, but we’re a small team at Laird and logistically it just wasn’t possible in the end.
“The brand has been part of British manufacturing history for more than two and a half centuries, and the loss of such heritage has sadly become a sign of the times.
“Christys’ sister brand CW Headress was sold off in 2024, moving up to Liverpool, splitting the original company in half, which can’t have helped.”
Laird already has a shop in Oxford, which dates back to the 1200s, and plans to relocate Christys back to London.
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Alex Torun-Shaw outside Laird’s London store. (Image: SWNS)
Describing the takeover, Mr Torun?Shaw said: “The last four months have really been a whirlwind, being tasked with rejuvenating this famous brand.
“We were always confident that we had our own workshops, so we knew what we could do, and we’ve worked with our cloth and felt suppliers for many years, but we’re a small team at Laird and have had to play catch-up pretty quickly.
“We will start with a new collection and launch online, and plan to grow slowly. I know that Christys’ had an extensive list of clients, but very little information from the old company came across to us.
“I must be clear that on taking on the brand, IP and domains we’ve had to start from scratch, and have no connection with the previous Owner of the brand.”
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