The Arcadia group has gone into administration, putting 13,000 jobs at risk.
The company owns the big retail chains Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins.
No redundancies will be announced on Monday, administrators Deloitte said in a statement.
Stores will continue to trade and all orders made over the Black Friday weekend will be honoured, Deloitte added.
Arcadia had been in emergency talks with lenders in a bid to secure a £30 million loan to help shore up its finances and pay off its debts after profits plunged during the pandemic but the bid failed.
The group has more than 500 retail stores across the UK with the majority of these currently shut as a result of England’s second national lockdown, which will end next week.
It is the latest retailer to have been hammered by the closure of stores in the face of coronavirus, with rivals including Debenhams, Edinburgh Woollen Mill Group and Oasis Warehouse all sliding into insolvency since the pandemic struck in March.
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