Land of Leather, which operates 109 retail stores across Britain and Ireland, entered the administration process - where a company is run independently with the priority of returning funds to creditors - after failing to raise working capital or find a buyer.

Mr Lee Manning, one of the appointed administrators at Deloitte said that the company's stores would continue to trade as normal 'while the administrators continue to talk to interested parties with a view to concluding a sale of the business as a going concern'.

Land of Leather said it had found itself in challenging market conditions 'for some time' as a result of the credit crunch and a lack of household spending on big ticket retail items.

'The company has made every effort to reduce costs and conserve cash, but market conditions have continued to be difficult and the results from the January sale have been very disappointing,' it said, adding that the company remained debt free.

Mr Manning said administrators were working with management to protect the interests of customers who have already paid deposits on furniture orders.

He said any orders made after Dec 26 are fully protected, while people who made orders before that date would be offered a discount on other stock if their original order cannot be fulfilled.

A number of high profile retailers have fallen victim to the global financial crisis in recent weeks, including department store veteran Woolworths, the queen's tailor Hardy Amies and tea and coffee merchant Whittard of Chelsea. -- AP