The owners of Debenhams have begun drawing up plans for the liquidation of the 242-year-old department store chain according to Sky News.
The move could trigger the single-biggest jobs cull of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sky News reported that Debenhams has appointed Hilco Capital, which specialises in helping to wind down distressed retail businesses, to work with it in the event that a sale process for one of Britain’s best-known retailers ends in failure.
Hilco’s role was described this weekend as “contingency planning” by people close to the company as it seeks to secure its future ahead of the crucial pre-Christmas trading period.
Debenhams employs around 14,000 people, having announced earlier this week that it was shedding a further 2,500 members of its workforce.
The chain, which trades from just over 120 stores across the UK, had already axed more than 4,000 jobs since the pandemic struck.
