Rent to own giant BrightHouse is reportedly on the brink of administration - in a move that could cost more than 2,400 workers their jobs.
The company is expected to appoint Grant Thornton, the accountancy firm, as administrator on Monday, after its investors withdrew support for a proposed restructuring, according to Sky News.
A spokesman told Sky News on Friday: "The national response to the COVID-19 pandemic has required us to prioritise the health and wellbeing of our staff and customers, in particular by closing all stores in the last few days.
"While we continue to actively engage with our stakeholders, these developments have made the task of finding a future for BrightHouse more challenging."
BrightHouse, which provides loans to consumers to purchase electrical items such as televisions and washing machines, trades from 240 stores across the UK and has roughly 200,000 customers.
Its administration is likely to mean that customers with outstanding mis-selling complaints will receive only a fraction of the sums they are seeking.
We've got a full guide on what BrightHouse's collapse will mean for you, here.
The company most recently went through a restructuring back in 2017 - last year it closed 10% of its stores.
If the chain goes bust, it will follow the likes of Wonga, PiggyBank and Quidquid, which all collapsed over compensation claims after being pulled up for their eligibility checks.
Do you work for BrightHouse? Get in touch: emma.munbodh@mirror.co.uk
In 2017, regulator the Financial Conduct Authority, called for BrightHouse to repay nearly 250,000 customers a total of £14.8million, for failing to act as a "responsible lender".
These ongoing claims cost BrightHouse a reported £1million each month.
In February, the retailer fell to a loss of £16million in its latest financial quarter after being hit by rising compensation claims.
It came after the chain closed 30 stores last year, a tenth of its total branch network.
