Carpetright has gone into administration putting all 272 of its stores and up to 3,000 jobs at risk.
The major carpet and tiling retailer has has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as administrators as it looks to secure the long-term future of the company.
It comes after it was revealed this week that Carpetright hadsbeen put up for sale.
Today the company filed a notice of intention to go into administration at the High Court. This will give Carpetright ten days of protection as it continues to search for a last minute buyer.
PwC had already been working with the retailer to secure more funding needed to keep trading.
The decision comes after a software attack in April that disrupted trade and increased financial pressures on the company.
Hackers targeted the company headquarters in Purfleet, Essex, sending malware to gain unauthorised access.
Carpetright’s network was taken offline due to the attack but bosses insisted that the virus was isolated before any data was exposed.
Staff and hundreds of customers were affected by the malicious virus with employees unable access their payroll information.
A source had told The Sun at the time: ‘Some staff networks were taken down including the portals that workers use to book time off and look at payslips.
“It happened abruptly and was worrying because customers couldn’t get through to helplines.
“Everything at HQ was taken offline as that was the best way to stop the attack spreading to customer data.”