Administrators from BDO has said the specialist bathroom retailer – which has 135 stores –will continue to trade while a sale is explored.

If a buyer can’t be found 531 staff jobs across its stores and head office will be on the line.

Bathstore’s latest account showed a pre-tax loss of £22m on sales of £141m in the year to July 31, 2017.

The group’s owner American billionaire Warren Stephens provided a £15m loan and extended the maturity of previous loans until the end of July but is unwilling to inject more cash into the business.