Swindon's Toys R Us store to shut, administrators announce

The toy chain appointed Moorfields Advisory to oversee an administration at the end of February.

But on Wednesday, staff were told that no buyer has been found for Toys R Us and that all stores will close.

It is thought that Moorfields will now begin a six-week "wind down" of the store estate.

Moorfields will begin with the closure of at least 26 loss-making stores earmarked late last year, when Toys R Us pushed through a restructuring before its demise.

An official announcement is expected later on Wednesday.

Toys R Us is one of the nation's biggest toy retailers, employing more than 3,000 across 100 stores in the UK.

It has a store in Swindon on Oxford Road, which has attracted a string of bargain hunters.

Long queues were reported last weekend for discounted toys continued into Monday afternoon with shoppers eager to grab bargains of up to 30 per cent.

Signs advertising the fire sale have been plastered over the store, with branded goods such as Star Wars figures among the discounts. Kris and Sue Allen were among the shoppers grabbing bargains at the outlet, located off the White Hart roundabout on the Oxford Road.

One member of staff said: “The queues were going out of the door at the weekend. It was crazy.”

The employee said that he understood the store would close within eight weeks.

Moorfields said at the time of the chain's collapse that it is making "every effort" to secure a buyer for all or part of the business, but no suitor materialised in what is proving to be a dire time for high street retailers.

The retail sector has had a dismal start to 2018, with the collapse of Toys R Us and Maplin and a host of firms undergoing painful restructurings, including New Look and eateries run by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, as well as Byron and Prezzo.

High street chains across the board have been hit hard by falling consumer spending, soaring Brexit-fuelled inflation and competition from online rivals.