Budget retail chain, Poundworld has called in the administrators, with 5,100 jobs now at risk at around 350 UK stores.
It is believed that owner TPG and Poundworld's management rejected offers to buy the group out of a pre-pack administration, and instead were hoping to sell it as a solvent business.
The company's losses increased in 2016-17 to £17.1m, from £5.4m of losses the year before.
Poundworld will continue to trade while a buyer for all or part of the business is sought, Deloitte said, adding that there are no redundancies or store closures at this time.
Clare Boardman, joint administrator at Deloitte, said, 'The retail trading environment in the UK remains extremely challenging and Poundworld has been seeking to address this through a restructure of its business. Unfortunately, this has not been possible.
'We still believe a buyer can be found for the business or at least part of it and we are keeping staff appraised of developments as they happen. We thank all employees for their support at this difficult time.'
A TPG spokesman said, 'This was a difficult decision for every party involved. We invested in Poundworld because of our belief in how the company serves its customers and the strength of its employees.
'Despite investing resources to strengthen the business, the decline in UK retail and changing consumer behaviour affected Poundworld significantly.'
The chain was founded in 1974 by Yorkshire-based father and son team Chris Edwards Sr. and Chris Edwards Jr.
