This is the second time the business has entered administration. Scottish Financial News reported on M&Co’s first administration in August 2020, when the firm’s assets were sold to M&Co Trading Ltd in a pre-pack deal following the appointment of Deloitte as administrators.

In the 2020 deal M&Co’s estate was reduced from 265 to 218 stores and some 380 redundancies were made.

At the time of the 2020 administration, M&Co CEO Andy McGeoch said: “As everyone knows, retail has been one of the sectors hardest-hit by Covid-19, with long-term shop closures and social distancing having a hugely negative impact.

Mr McGeoch added: “It’s not a decision we took lightly, after more than 50 years of trading, but it gives us a sustainable basis from which to rebuild, with the majority of our staff keeping their jobs and 218 stores in High Streets across the country remaining open.

“The most difficult part of this process is undoubtedly seeing around 380 colleagues in stores and at our Glasgow and London operations leaving the business. It’s a terrible situation for them and I’m desperately sorry that we couldn’t come up with a viable plan which would have saved all the jobs.”

A spokesman for Teneo told trade publication Drapers: “Like many retailers, the company has experienced a sharp rise in its input costs, which has coincided with a decline in consumer confidence leading to increased pressure on cash flows and trading losses.

“No immediate redundancies have been made and the joint administrators are exploring a potential sale of the business in an accelerated timeframe, during which time the company will continue to trade from its stores and website.”