Jobs fear as fashion chain collapses

The retailer, which caters for the 16- to 25-year-old female market, became the latest high street retailer to fail under the strain of reduced consumer spending.

A spokeswoman for business advisory firm Zolfo Cooper said it had been appointed administrator of the retailer, which trades from over 200 stores and concessions in the UK and Ireland, employing over 1,600.

Zolfo Cooper hopes to find a buyer for the stricken retailer, which closed its 90 stores on Saturday. These included 14 in Yorkshire.

It is rumoured that department store group Debenhams could buy the Jane Norman brand and residual stock.

Knitwear firm Edinburgh Woollen Mill could also be among the potential bidders. The retailer has a record of turning around troubled companies after it bought 77 stores from the administrators of Rosebys.

Retailers, particularly those selling non-essential items, have been struggling as cash-strapped consumers grapple with rising prices, subdued wages growth and Government cutbacks.

Last week home furnishings firm Habitat UK and the owner of Moben kitchens both went into administration while Mothercare, Comet and HMV are closing stores.

Jane Norman, which has around 100 concessions within department stores including Debenhams, is understood to have asked its landlords last week to defer its rent payments.

The company has failed to find a buyer in recent weeks, but putting the company into administration may speed up the sale process because some of its £140m debts could be scrapped.

Clothes have become more expensive as raw materials such as cotton have soared in price and VAT rose to 20 per cent from 17.5 per cent in January.