Convenience store chain McColl’s has collapsed into administration.
McColl’s – which has stores in Carlton Hill and Calverton – said the company’s lenders did not want to extend banking agreements that were keeping the business going.
Accountancy firm PwC has been appointed as administrators and will look for a buyer “as soon as possible”.
Supermarket chain Morrisons proposed a rescue deal on Thursday to try to safeguard the chain.
McColl’s said that while discussions with Morrisons had “made significant progress”, its lenders had made clear that the discussions would not reach a conclusion that was acceptable to them.
Asda co-owner EG Group, which is owned by the billionaire Issa brothers, could strike a deal to rescue the bulk of the company, Sky News reported.
McColl’s said it had asked for trading in its shares to be suspended. The chain had been running out of cash and needed an injection of funds to stay afloat.
McColl’s raised £30m from shareholders last year to invest in expanding its Morrisons Daily convenience stores, but at the time it warned that footfall had been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
