https://www.standard.co.uk/insider/middletons-family-business-collapse-party-pieces-james-kate-william-ella-b1098424.html#comments-area
Earlier this summer, Carole and Michael Middleton were forced to sell off their party supplies firm, Party Pieces, after it racked up debts of £2.6 million, leaving dozens of small businesses out of pocket. Meanwhile, the baby of the clan, serial entrepreneur James Middleton, is facing fresh business woes after it was reported the assets on his latest venture, Ella & Co, have plummeted.
James launched a dog food company dedicated to the ‘happiness and wellbeing of dogs’. The business was inspired by his beloved spaniel Ella, whom James has credited both with saving his life, after helping him during his darkest days of depression...Sadly, Ella died at the beginning of this year, and now it seems her namesake company may be ailing too, as it’s recently been reported that Ella &Co’s assets are down to just £92,510, compared with £334,591 the previous year.
It’s hardly surprising to see James Matthews providing a healthy injection of cash for his brother-in-law’s business – since her 2017 wedding to the investment banker, whose net worth is estimated to be upwards of £2billlon, Pippa has become by far the richest member of the Middleton family. Last year, the couple and their three children relocated from their £17million Chelsea townhouse to a sprawling 30-room mansion in Berkshire, just a 20-minute drive from her parents.
At home, however, things are going less smoothly, as Pippa and James are currently struggling with some of the ambitious renovations planned for their £15million Berkshire house. Their proposal to build a mammoth swimming pool and tennis court topped with AstroTurf, which would require building over an old wall, has been called into question by specialists, who worry about the “historic fabric” of the estate, as well as for “the Middle Stone Age sites” nearby.
The closure of Party Pieces has come as a blow to the Middletons, especially Carole, who friends say is “desperately sad” to see the business sold off in this way. It was snapped up by former children’s entertainer James Sinclair – who calls himself the ‘Millionaire Clown’ – for £180,000, but crucially the Essex-based entrepreneur has not taken on any of the company’s debts. Many of those who have been left out of pocket are small family-owned businesses, including Mohamad Pardis, owner of the helium supplier Sultani Gas, who said the £20,430 he is owed was equivalent to a year’s profits. “I thought I was in safe hands and that I could trust the royal family. I’m completely shocked,” he was quoted as saying.
Carole famously started the business from her kitchen table in 1987, when she was six months pregnant with James...The business really took off with the advent of online shopping in the 1990s, and at the time of Kate and William’s wedding in 2011 it was estimated to be worth £30 million.
...it’s thought the family’s wealth derives almost entirely from the success of Party Pieces. It certainly seems to be what allowed Carole and Michael to pay the hefty school fees for all three of their children.
Despite her apparent involvement, though, friends say Carole’s actually taken a backseat in the business since 2019, trusting the day-to-day running to a new management team. She’s since acknowledged she was “naïve” to do so, as the business quickly started racking up debts. When lockdown came and people stopped throwing parties, the company was forced to take out a £219,000 Covid loan from RBS, a bank still propped up by taxpayers – meaning some of those debts will now have to be paid out of the pockets of the British public.
It’s all rather awkward when you consider these are the in-laws of the future king. “It definitely doesn’t reflect well on the royals, but Kate will mostly just be worried about her mother, as the two have always been incredibly close,” says one well-placed source. “Carole will be working hard to put this right.” It’s said before Party Pieces fell into administration Carole was calling those who were owed money from her personal mobile to apologise, promising that debts would be repaid. Unfortunately, the administrators’ report made it clear that it is “highly unlikely” that any of these organisations would receive any of the money that they are owed.
As for James, the serial entrepreneur’s not going anywhere. “He’s full of energy and he’s always got something on the go,” says a friend. “He knows people will mock him for starting endless businesses, but he doesn’t care. If this one fails, I reckon he’ll just keep launching more.”
I feel bad for Kate because this will reflect badly on her.