Luxury shirts, made by Royal shirtmaker, go under the hammer in Scunthorpe

"Beautifully-made" shirts, worth over £100,000 and made by the holder of a Royal Warrant, are due to go under the hammer in an online auction next week.
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, which had a flagship store on Jermyn Street in the West End of London and made the shirts at the historic Abercorn Factory in Northern Ireland, went into liquidation at the end of February.

Scunthorpe-based auctioneers Eddisons CJM, were instructed to sell off the stock - over a thousands shirts, both men's and women's - which will go under the hammer in the online sale ending on May 20.

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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

Grosvenor Shirts was founded in 1999 to compete at the top end of the market.

Its shirts were designed in London and handmade at the Abercorn Factory in Strabane, which has a shirt-making tradition dating back to the mid-19th century.

Mr Cooper added: “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.

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“Unfortunately neither its its positioning at the luxury end of the market nor its status as one of the last truly British shirtmaking companies has saved it.

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

He said the "ultra-stylish, superb quality and beautifully made" shirts originally carried price tags of £100-£150.

He added: “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 as well as trade buyers.”

The auction includes other items which 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.

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He added: "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.

Because of the Coronavirus situation, viewing on Monday May 18 is strictly by advance appointment with the auctioneers (01724-334411) and social distancing measures will be in force.

The fully illustrated auction catalogue is available at www.eddisonscjm.com. The online auction is scheduled to end at noon on Wednesday May 20.

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