Britain's oldest department store has officially gone into administration after years of plummeting sales and crisis talks.
Debenhams said it has appointed administrators from the FRP Advisory to oversee the process, after announcing it had filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators on Monday.
Around 22,000 jobs are now at risk - alongside 142 stores in the UK.
All of its stores in Ireland have closed permanently with no plans to reopen after the lockdown period ends.
In a statement, 242-year-old Debenhams said: "In these unprecedented circumstances the appointment of the administrators will protect our business, our employees, and other important stakeholders, so that we are in a position to resume trading from our stores when Government restrictions are lifted.
"We anticipate that our highly supportive owners and lenders will make additional funding available to fund the administration period.
"We are desperately sorry not to be able to keep the Irish business operating but are faced with no alternative option in the current environment.
"This decision has not been taken lightly and is no way a reflection on our Irish colleagues, whose professionalism and commitment to serving our customers has never been in question."
Debenhams fell into the hands of its lenders last April, a group of banks and hedge funds led by US firm Silver Point Capital, after struggling for years to keep up with the competition.
The measures saw rent costs reduced across dozens of branches - and 20 closed permanently.
In its latest move to save stores, the company said it had written to landlords requesting a five-month rent holiday.
The department store operator, which traces its roots to 1778, has been working on a plan to permanently close 50 shops, leaving around 110 as its core estate.
Just over 20 have closed already, leaving 28 more locations to be identified.
Is Debenhams closing down?
Debenhams says it intends to reopen as many stores as possible once the lockdown restrictions are lifted - however this is subject to rent negotiations and whether the company can agree to save enough cash through its landlords.
Some stores may not reopen if they can’t come to an agreement with landlords over rent. All stores in Ireland have closed for good.
In the meantime, online trading is continuing as normal, although some of its policies on returns, gift cards and deliveries have changed in response to COVID-19.
I have a Debenhams gift card - what are my rights?
Debenhams has closed all of its high street stores in the UK with no plans to reopen any time soon under the Government's coronavirus prevention guidelines. In Ireland, all stores have now closed for good.
This means you won't be able to spend any gift cards or credit notes on the high street.
The good news though is that its online website remains in action and gift cards and credit notes are still being honoured as usual.
If you have one to use up, you can still shop on the Debenhams website - but bear in mind this is worth doing sooner rather than later as once a company goes into administration, the company can close its website at any second.
If a company collapses, it is effectively up to the administrator who is brought in to decide whether or not it will honour gift cards. Gift card holders are viewed as creditors and once they write them off, there is no going back.
The terms and conditions on Debenhams gift cards warn that the funds are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and in the "unlikely event of the issuer of this product becoming insolvent some funds on the card may not be available to spend".
If you do shop online, remember there will be some delays as a result of Covid-19 so orders may arrive slightly later than usual.
Debenhams says online orders are still being accepted. Standard home deliveries could take up to seven working days, but its next-day delivery service is ‘running as usual’. If your next-day delivery arrives late, it has committed to refund the delivery charge.
Its courier service, Hermes, is running a contactless service, so make sure to choose a safe place on the MyHermes app after placing your order.
I've placed an order - will it definitely arrive?
Clarks and Cath Kidston are just a few big companies that have gone into administration in the past week, and Debenhams is following suit.
If a retailer you’ve bought something from does go bust, your rights will depend on the payment method you used.
If you paid by credit card and spent more than £100, you can make a claim with your credit provider under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
If you paid by debit card, you can make a chargeback claim with your bank - this will be at the bank's discretion, so the sooner you act, the better.
If you paid online, payment providers like PayPal have provisions in place to protect you if a sale goes wrong.
