"Since my appointment, we have reviewed the position of the business and held extensive discussions with suppliers around their support for ongoing trading," says Rob Hunt, joint administrator and partner at PwC. "It is apparent that we cannot continue to trade and as a result we have had to make the difficult decision to begin the closure of all 187 Jessops stores at the close of business today."

The move will cost the jobs of 1370 employees, with further job losses likely at the company's head office in Leicester, say the administrators at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"The stock will be collected over the coming days and returned to a central warehouse. It will be returned to suppliers if they are entitled to it. As a consequence of the closure, Jessops is no longer able to accept returned product from customers."

Consumers will also lose on money spent on gift vouchers and pre-paid orders. Affected users are advised to visit the PwC website for more details.

"This is an extremely sad day for Jessops and its employees," adds Hunt in a prepared press statement. "We are very grateful for the support we have received since our appointment and we will continue to ensure that employees are paid as they assist us during the closure."

Already, Nikon has moved to reassure Jessops customers that it will honour all repairs submitted via the bankrupt retail chain.