[Saph]

All Toys R Us stores in the UK are to shut following its collapse into administration last month.

Administrators have failed to find a buyer for the nation's biggest toy retailer, which employs more than 3,000 people, The Guardian reports.

After the news was announced to staff on Wednesday, 25 stores are expected to close later this week, with a further 75 shutting in the next six weeks.

Simon Thomas, joint administrator and partner at Moorfields, said: "We have made every effort to secure a buyer for all or part of the company's business. This process attracted some interest, but ultimately no party has been able to move forward with a formal bid prior to the expiration of the stated deadline.

"It is therefore with great regret that we have made the difficult decision to make a number of positions redundant at the company's head office in Maidenhead and proceed with a controlled store closure programme.

"We are grateful for the hard work of Toys R Us staff during this difficult period and will be providing support where we can to those who have been made redundant."

Moorfields Advisory was appointed at the end of February to begin "an orderly wind-down" of Toys R Us, the BBC reported.

The company has been dealing with financial difficulties and poor sales for some months. After it filed for bankruptcy in September, the organisation announced in January that it was planning to close around 180 locations across the US.

It's now thought that the chain of toy stores might decide to liquidate all its US shops.

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