Electronics company Maplin has become the second retailer on the same day to collapse into administration, putting another 2,500 jobs at risk.
The group, owned by private equity firm Rutland Partners, called in PwC on Wednesday after attempts to rescue the chain failed.
It comes after Toys R Us also fell into administration, affecting 3,200 staff.
Maplin has 217 stores in the UK, and PwC is still attempting to find a buyer for the group.
Graham Harris, the company’s chief executive, said: “I can confirm this morning that it has not been possible to secure a solvent sale of the business and as a result we now have no alternative but to enter into an administration process.
“During this process Maplin will continue to trade and remains open for business.”
He added that the retailer has been struggling to mitigate the impact of the pound’s devaluation post the Brexit vote, a weak consumer environment and the withdrawal of credit insurance.
“This necessitated an intensive search for new capital that in current market conditions has proved impossible to raise.
“These macro factors have been the principal challenge, not the Maplin brand or its market differentiation,” Mr Harris added.
Edinburgh Woollen Mill, run by retail billionaire Philip Day, had been touted as a potential rescuer for Maplin.
But talks are thought to have broken down, leaving Rutland no alternative but to call in administrators.
High street chains across the board have been hit hard by falling consumer spending, soaring inflation and competition from online rivals.
“We believe passionately that Maplin has a place on the high street, and that our trust, credibility and expertise meets a customer need that is not supported elsewhere,” the chief executive insisted.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel