Fashion retailer M&Co has collapsed into administration for the second time in just over two years.
The clothing brand employs 1,910 staff and has around 170 shops across the UK.
Financial advisory firm Teneo confirmed it had been called in as administrators on Friday.
It said M&Co had collapsed under a "sharp rise" in costs and an "increased pressure on cash flows and trading losses".
The BBC reports that several M&Co stores have shut in recent weeks - but Teneo said “no immediate” redundancies have been made.
One store wrote on Facebook this weekend: "To all our amazing customers, this is not an easy message to convey. M&Co have entered into administration as of the 9th December 2022.
"We are hoping for a positive outcome and that our lovely shops will be saved."
When a company enters administration, it may not accept the return of items.
Many customers could also find themselves in a situation where items have not been delivered just weeks before Christmas.
When a business enters administration, it doesn't necessarily mean it will close down.
The control of the company is passed to the appointed administrator who will look at how to sort its debt and other financial difficulties.
Companies can be bought out of administration too.
If a company in administration can't be saved, then it is normally liquidated and its assets sold off to pay its debts.
A notice on the M&Co website reads: "Adele MacLeod, Gavin George Scott Park and Robert James Harding of Teneo Financial Advisory Limited were appointed Joint Administrators of M&Co Trading Limited (“the Company”) on 9 December 2022.
"The affairs, business and property of the Company are managed by the Joint Administrators. The Joint Administrators act as agents of the Company and contract without personal liability."
A spokesman for Teneo told Drapers : "Like many retailers, the company has experienced a sharp rise in its input costs, which has coincided with a decline in consumer confidence leading to increased pressure on cash flows and trading losses.
"No immediate redundancies have been made and the joint administrators are exploring a potential sale of the business in an accelerated timeframe, during which time the company will continue to trade from its stores and website."
M&Co first collapsed in August 2020 and was restructured via a pre-pack administration deal.
The overhaul of the business resulted in the closure of 47 stores and the loss of 381 jobs.
M&Co, previously known as Mackays, was launched in Scotland by the McGeoch family in 1961.
