The buyer of WHSmith's high street stores is on the brink of a rescue deal for accessories retailer Claire's in the UK.

But the deal for the tween favourite, which has stores in Cheltenham and Gloucester, is still likely to trigger tens of store closures, as reported by Sky.

It's thought Modella Capital and Interpath Advisory, the administrator to Claire's UK and Irish operations, could announce a transaction by the end of this week (October 3).

The deal is set to keep some Claire's stores open, but a significant number of them are likely to be earmarked for closure, subject to negotiations with landlords and suppliers.

The retailer trades from 278 stores in the UK and 28 in Ireland, employing about 2,100 people.

Jobs are also likely to be cut at Claire's UK head office, with plans to merge functions with Modella's other UK retail businesses, TGJones - formerly WHSmith - and Hobbycraft.

Modella saw off competition for the business from rival bidders including Dragon's Den star, Touker Suleyman, and HMV owner, Doug Putman.

Interpath said last month it would keep all Claire's shops open while it looked into options for the business.

The retailer is one of the biggest high street chains to fall into insolvency this year.