The fashion retailer was struggling even before the pandemic, only emerging from administration in February, but successive coronavirus lockdowns have derailed any possibility of a recovery.

The company, which is targeted at women over 50 and employs 1,500 people, was bought out of administration by British businessmen Philip Day. Its collapse is another blow to his retail empire. Peacocks, Jaeger, Austin Reed and Jacques Vert, which are part of Day’s Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group, fell into bankruptcy last month.

The news adds to the crisis on the UK’s high street, with dominant players Debenhams and Topshop-owner Arcadia Group also failing this week.