Debenhams is expected to fall into administration today after a last-ditch rescue offer by Sports Direct was rejected by the department stores group and its lenders.
Delivering bad news to the 25,000 employees who work at the 165-shop chain, it said that it could not accept an offer from Sports Direct to underwrite a £150m emergency rights issue, which would involve existing shareholders buying newly issued shares.
This means that barring any deadline extensions for talks or an eleventh-hour takeover offer, Debenhams, a retailer that traces its history to 1778, will fall into a pre-pack administration and hand control to its lenders today.
