Barratts Shoes goes into administration

The jobs of up to 150 staff at Barratts Shoes in Ireland could be at risk, as the company goes into administration.

This is the third time the high street chain has entered administration - having first gone under in 2009.

Barratts Shoes has 15 shops in the Republic of Ireland - and another 15 in the north - both of which employ up to 150 workers.

Directors say they were left with no choice after an investor pulled out of a plan to inject almost €6m at the end of last week.

The administrators said they were seeking a sale of the business as a going concern, but added that redundancies and/or store closures cannot be ruled out.