Dozens of Debenhams stores are expected to close, with the loss of thousands of jobs, after the department store chain was tipped into administration yesterday despite months of desperate rescue attempts.
Customers with gift card or vouchers were urged to spend them while they could after the high street chain, which traces its history to 1778, said it would continue to trade as normal while its lenders sought new owners.
The lenders, which include US hedge funds and mainstream banks, took control after failing to reach a restructuring deal with Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct, which owns a third of the company.
