Also owner of Peacocks and Jaeger, Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group has filed a notice to appoint administrators.

The high street fashion chain with stores in Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Cirencester, Bourton-on-the-Water and Broadway, will continue to open whilst discussions progress.

In a bid to save the business, Edinburgh Woollen Mills hope that the proposal will help to save the business which employes 24,000 workers nationwide.

Chief executive Steve Simpson told BBC News: "Like every retailer, we have found the past seven months extremely difficult.

"This situation has grown worse in recent weeks as we have had to deal with a series of false rumours about our payments and trading which have impacted our credit insurance.

"Traditionally, EWM has always traded with strong cash reserves and a conservative balance sheet, but these stories, the reduction in credit insurance, against the backdrop of the lockdown and now this second wave of COVID-19, and all the local lockdowns, have made normal trading impossible.

"Through this process I hope and believe we will be able to secure the best future for our businesses, but there will inevitably be significant cuts and closures as we work our way through this."