Ten out of the 20 Coffee Republic (UK) Ltd-owned stores have now closed, resulting in 66 redundancies, announced administrators KPMG Restructuring today.

The coffee chain went into administration earlier this week, following the suspension of its shares amid rumours the chain was facing collapse.

The company-owned store in Gloucester Road, London, closed shortly before the administrators were appointed. The nine remaining company-owned stores are continuing to trade as normal. The 70 franchised stores, along with 97 concessions that are not in administration, are also trading as normal.

Richard Hill KPMG partner and joint administrator said that, following an assessment of the Coffee Republic (UK) Ltd-owned outlets, the decision was made to close stores that were “no longer viable”.

“We are now in discussions with interested parties with a view to selling the remaining business as a going concern,” continued Hill. “There has been huge interest already from potential purchasers and I remain confident of achieving a sale during the course of next week.”