Fashion retailer Bonmarché has fallen into administration, putting nearly 2,900 jobs at risk.
The chain has appointed FRP Advisory to oversee the administration and look for a new buyer.
The retailer says there will be no immediate job losses and it will “assess the options” to secure its future. The chain’s 318 stores and concessions will stay open.
Chief executive Helen Connolly says Brexit is partly to blame for the chain’s problems.
She said: "It is with deep regret and sadness that we have appointed administrators. Over the last 18 months, trading in our stores and market conditions on the high street have significantly worsened.”
"The delay in Brexit has created negativities both in the global markets towards Britain and damaged consumer sentiment and retail footfall on the high street.
"These have compounded the challenges we were facing and without such a delay, it is feasible to believe that our issues would have been more manageable. Instead, it has only intensified the pressures."
Tony Wright, joint administrator and partner at FRP, said: “Bonmarché has been a staple on the UK high street for nearly three decades, but the persistent challenges facing retail have taken their toll and led to the administration.
"There is every sign that we can continue trading while we market Bonmarché for sale and believe that there will be interest to take on the business.”
Bonmarché was last in administration in 2012, when it was bought by private equity firm Sun European Partners.
Retail entrepreneur and Edinburgh Woollen Mill owner Phillip Day now owns a 95 per cent majority stake in the business through his Dubai-based investment vehicle Spectre.
Spectre said in a statement: "We are disappointed with the result of our investment in Bonmarché, but our primary thought at this time is with the business' employees and families."
Keith Mahoney, head of insolvency law at Meade King in Bristol, added: “Bonmarché is just the latest in a long line of high street failures due to increasing costs and a drop in demand by consumers for shopping in bricks and mortar retail outlets.
“This is a trend that will without doubt get worse before – if ever – it gets better.”
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