Fashion retailer New Look has confirmed it has asked for a three month rent holiday, halted production plans and reportedly asked all staff to take unpaid leave.

Sighting the on-going coronavirus crisis the business, which has shops in Gloucester and Cheltenham, is understood to have made the moves to help it navigate the uncertainty of the epidemic.

The company employs an estimated 13,000 staff, and according to the website Drapers gave them the option of unpaid voluntary leave or of using their holiday allowance.

Drapers also said the company had paused all its current and future production plans in light of the epidemic.

It is thought the retailer could still take up the government on its offer to cover 80 per cent of wages for any job affected by the crisis.