Debenhams stores are reportedly set to close after the failure of last-ditch attempts to rescue the department store chain.
All 12,000 employees could lose their jobs when the chain’s 124 shops cease trading, the BBC reports.
Debenhams fell into administration for the second time in April.
Hopes had rested on a rescue bid from JD Sports, but the sports company pulled out of the deal.
The collapse of Arcadia Group, which includes Topshop and Dorothy Perkins, is thought to have changed JD Sports’ calculations.
In a brief statement to the London Stock Exchange, the company said: ‘JD Sports Fashion, the leading retailer of sports, fashion and outdoor brands, confirms that discussions with the administrators of Debenhams regarding a potential acquisition of the UK business have now been terminated.’
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