Bathroom chain Bathstore has fallen into administration, putting 531 jobs at risk.
The retailer , which is headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, has 135 stores across the UK.
The company will continue to trade as normal for the time being, according to administrators BDO, which is hoping to find a buyer for the business.
Ryan Grant, BDO business restructuring partner, said: "Despite significant investment into the business over the past five years, Bathstore has struggled to overcome the well-documented challenges facing the UK retail sector.
"The appointment was made after several months of difficult trading, and the failure of ongoing talks to find a buyer for the business. Bathstore is continuing to trade in administration whilst the administrators seek a buyer."
It was reported last week that Bathstore had been hit by the devaluation of the pound in 2016 and a collapse of consumer confidence in 2017.
Now an insider has told The Mirror that many of the stores are now at risk of closure, following losses worth millions of pounds over the past two years.
Patrick Riley and Nico de Beer founded the company in 1990, but it has been owned by Warren Stephens since 2014.
Bathstore is the latest casualty on the high street, which has faced a challenging 12 months.
Many retailers across the South West region have collapsed into administration or been forced to take out Company Voluntary Agreements (CVAs) - a controversial insolvency policy - in a bid to stay afloat.
