Ulster’s Royal shirtmaker hits the end of the road

The Ulster-based Royal shirtmaker will hit the end of the road next week when its entire remaining stock goes under the auctioneer’s hammer.
By Claire Cartmill
Published 16th May 2020, 06:00 BST
Eddisons CJM director Charles Moses takes a look at some of the thousand handmade shirtsEddisons CJM director Charles Moses takes a look at some of the thousand handmade shirts
Eddisons CJM director Charles Moses takes a look at some of the thousand handmade shirts

Grosvenor Shirts, holder of a Royal Warrant as outfitters to the Queen, has gone into liquidation, closing the doors the doors at its manufacturing centre in the Abercorn Factory in Strabane and its flagship store on Jermyn Street in the West End of London.

Handmade shirts with a retail value of over a hundred thousand pounds have been removed to the North Lincolnshire auction centre of Eddisons CJM where they are to go under the hammer in an online auction that ends on Wednesday, May 20 at noon.

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Eddisons CJM director Paul Cooper said: “It is an unusual auction that is expected to attract a lot of attention. Luxury shirts, hand made by the Royal shirtmaker, are not something that you’ll see in the saleroom so often.”

The saleroom's Adam Martin preparing lots for the auctionThe saleroom's Adam Martin preparing lots for the auction
The saleroom's Adam Martin preparing lots for the auction

Speaking about the company he said: “Grosvenor Shirts was a private limited company that was founded in 1999 to compete at the top end of the market. Its shirts were designed in London and handmade at the historic Abercorn Factory in Strabane, which of course has a shirtmaking tradition dating back to the mid-19 th century.

“The business achieved spectacular success, initially with a concession in Selfridges, followed by a stand alone store in Mayfair and then the opening of their flagship store on Jermyn Street in 2013. That was also the year that the company gained the Royal Warrant.

“Unfortunately neither its its positioning at the luxury end of the marker nor its status as one of the last truly British shirtmaking companies has saved it. The company went into liquidation at the end of February and Begbies Traynor, the specialists winding up the affairs of the business, have now instructed us to sell off stock from both Jermyn Street and the Abercorn Factory.

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“We have been sent over a thousand shirts, both men’s and women’s. It goes without saying that they are ultra-stylish, superb quality and beautifully made. Many of them originally carried price tags of £100-£150. For the most part we have lotted them according to size in quantities of five to eight shirts to enable members of the public to get involved in the bidding and given that it is an exclusively online auction it is open to people everywhere.

Some of the thousands of pounds worth of shirts that are going under the hammerSome of the thousands of pounds worth of shirts that are going under the hammer
Some of the thousands of pounds worth of shirts that are going under the hammer

“In addition to the shirts the auction includes other items that were sold at the Jermyn Street store including ladies blouses, men’s suits, trousers, skirts, nightwear and accessories ranging from belts and ties to cufflinks and socks. The quirkiest entry is a box of socks, the remnants of a 2010 World Cup licensing deal that saw Grosvenor making formal shirts and clothing for each of the 32 qualifying teams. There was obviously some over production of stock for the Japanese and Honduran teams!”

In total the auction extends to 200 lots. The fully illustrated auction catalogue is available at www.eddisonscjm.com.

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Related topics:UlsterQueenWest End